The Prince

Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Press

The Prince
Niccolo Machiavelli
1532

The Summary
Written in the 16th century by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (or Il Principe) is a political treatise on the responsibilities of the aristocracy and the rights of principalities.  Although published after his death in 1527, The Prince made waves for its use of common language (Italian, rather than traditional Latin) and its unexpected expressions on modern philosophy and politics.

The Good
The Prince is intriguing and innovative for its time.  I can appreciate it more now that I've had the opportunity to read a little more about its history, as well as its impact.  It's a book that defied convention and, more importantly, defined an entire genre on political tracts and political philosophy.

The Bad
I did not like reading The Prince.  I know part of that is because I purchased a translation that was--well, let's say less than spectacular.  While I was reading, I noticed little mistakes.  Some were simple typos, but a few were glaring grammar mistakes.  It's almost like the original Italian text was just fed through Google and published even with the transcription mistakes.

Plus I was so bored ALL THE TIME.  (Sorry for the capitals, I just feel that statement needed extra emphasis.)  It took me literal weeks to finish reading The Prince, even though it was only 114 pages.  I just couldn't keep up with it.  I was bored by it after only a few pages, and I couldn't stand reading it after I realized I couldn't consider the text reliable.

It was terrible.

I finished the book only because I needed a book on politics as one of the requirements for my Read Harder Challenge.  But, honestly, I wouldn't subject anyone to my copy of The Prince.  I would read it again for a college course, if necessary; otherwise, I don't think I'd ever read it again if I didn't have to read it.

Put simply, it's not the best reading experience I've ever had.  Not the absolute worst, but it's a close second.

The Ugly
Bad translations and boredom.