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Cover of Dell'Arte della Guerra

Dell'Arte della Guerra

Niccolò Machiavelli

First published 1980 · 10938 pages

A rigorous, intellectual exploration of Renaissance realpolitik and the cold mechanics of military strategy.

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What it feels like

Reading this treatise feels like sitting in a shaded Renaissance garden, listening to a master tactician systematically dismantle the illusions of warfare and statecraft. The mood is austere and deeply intellectual, demanding a reader who appreciates the cold, calculating logic of power. Structured as a classical dialogue, the prose is rhetorical and precise, methodically building a case for the inseparable bond between a strong military and a stable republic. It is a steady, deliberate read that eschews emotional appeals in favor of pragmatic foresight and historical emulation. History buffs, political science enthusiasts, and armchair strategists will find themselves captivated by its unapologetic realism and the enduring sharpness of its strategic philosophy.

Mood
  • intellectual
  • austere
  • calculating
Tone
  • analytical
  • pragmatic
  • authoritative
  • didactic
Pace
steady
Themes
strategic foresight · civic duty · mechanics of power · military and statecraft · historical emulation
The writing
Structured and rhetorical, utilizing a classical dialogue format to systematically present and defend strategic theories.
The arc
Moves from a philosophical inquiry into civic duty to a rigorous, pragmatic breakdown of military mechanics and statecraft.
Who it's for
Readers fascinated by Renaissance history, political philosophy, and the cold mechanics of military strategy.
Content notes
  • discussions of war
  • military violence
  • political ruthlessness

About the book

STC (2nd ed.) 17165 Rosenwald 1241 Place and printer from colophon. Signatures: a4 A-2G4; A-N4. "Certaine vvayes for the ordering of souldiours in battelray, and setting of battayles... gathered & set foorth by Peter VVhitehorne" has a separate t.p. and foliation. With: Cataneo, Girolamo. [Tavole brevissime per sapere con prestezza quante file vanno a formare una giustissima battaglia. English] Most briefe tables to knovve redily hovve manye ranckes of footemen armed with corslettes as vnarmed go to the making of a iust battayle... Imprinted at London: By VV. VVilliamson, for Iohn VVight, anno 1574 -- Vegetius Renatus, Flavius. [De re militari. English] Imprinted at London...: By Thomas Marshe, anno 1572 -- Styward, Thomas. The pathwaie to martiall discipline, deuided into two bookes... Imprinted at London: By T. East for Myles Jenyngs..., 1581 -- Rich, Barnabe. A path-way to military practise... At London: Printed by Iohn Charlewood, for Robert Walley, 1587. Bound together subsequent to publication.

Description from Open Library.

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