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Niccolo's Smile: A Biography of Machiavelli

Niccolo's Smile: A Biography of Machiavelli

Current price: $20.00
This product is not returnable.
Publication Date: January 9th, 2002
Publisher:
Hill and Wang
ISBN:
9780374528003
Pages:
288
Usually Ships in 1 to 5 Days

Description

A vivid portrayal of the great Italian philosopher - now in paperback

In Niccolò's Smile, Maurizio Viroli brings to life the fascinating writer who was the founder of modern political thought. Niccolò Machiavelli's works on the theory and practice of statecraft are classics, but Viroli sugggests that his greatest accomplishment is his robust philosophy of life -- his deep beliefs about how one should conduct oneself as a modern citizen in a republic, as a responsible family member, as a good person. On these subjects Machiavelli wrote no books: the text of his philosophy is his life itself, a life that was filled with paradox, uncertainty, and tragic drama.

About the Author

Maurizio Viroli has written many works on political philosophy, most notably Machiavelli. A professor of politics at Princeton University, he lives in Princeton, New Jersey, and Forli, Italy.

Antony Shugaar is a writer and translator. Aside from Giorgio Faletti’s A Pimp’s Notes, his recent translations include books by Simonetta Agnello Hornby, Silvia Avallone, Nanni Balestrini (with an NEA translation fellowship), Fabio Bartolomei, Massimo Carlotto, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Diego De Silva, Marco Mancassola, Gianni Rodari, and Paolo Sorrentino. He is the author of  Coast to Coast and I Lie for a Living and the coauthor, with the late Gianni Guadalupi, of Discovering America and Latitude Zero. He has published with the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and online with the New York Times, among other publications. He is currently at work on a book about translation for the University of Virginia Press.

Praise for Niccolo's Smile: A Biography of Machiavelli

“Elegant and accessible ... Viroli provides [a straightforward chronological account of events] in the pellucid Italian original, whose gracefulness has not been lost in Antony Shugaar's excellent translation ... The dramatics events of Italian political life and Machiavelli's participation in them ... determine the rhythm of his story.” —Mark Lilla, The Washington Post Book World

“A welcome antidote to the clichéd image of self-interested knavery for which [Machiavelli] has become known ... Viroli succeeds ... in offering a fascinating portrait.” —Alexander Stille, The New York Times Book Review