Machiavelli: His Life and Times
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Machiavelli: His Life and Times
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Keeble
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By:
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Alexander Lee
About this listen
Thanks to the invidious reputation of his most famous work, The Prince, Niccolo` Machiavelli exerts a unique hold over the popular imagination. But was Machiavelli as sinister as he is often thought to be? Might he not have been an infinitely more sympathetic figure, prone to political missteps, professional failures, and personal dramas?
In Machiavelli: His Life and Times, Alexander Lee reveals the man behind the myth, following him from cradle to grave, from his father's penury and the abuse he suffered at a teacher's hands, to his marriage and his many affairs (with both men and women), to his political triumphs and, ultimately, his fall from grace and exile. In doing so, Lee uncovers hitherto unobserved connections between Machiavelli's life and thought. He also reveals the world through which Machiavelli moved: from the great halls of Renaissance Florence to the court of the Borgia pope Alexander VI, from the dungeons of the Stinche prison to the Rucellai garden, where he would begin to write some of his last great works.
As much a portrait of an age as of a uniquely engaging man, Lee's gripping and definitive biography takes the listener into Machiavelli's world - and his work - more completely than ever before.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about Machiavelli: His Life and Times
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sebastian Jönsson
- 08-11-22
An excellent read
I wish every history book was so filled and layed out. It made it easy to follow Niccolo Machiavelli through out his life, truimphs, setbacks and finally his death.
A real treat.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Auguste Dupin
- 30-11-21
Gripping, informative, eye opening
This is such a fascinating book. I have read The Prince, and one or two shorter accounts of Machiavelli, but this was completely eye opening. Machiavelli had a much fuller life than I had imagined, being at the center of many wars and intrigues and also a significant contributor to the Italian literary scene of the day. All this is portrayed so well in this book that it is like reading a great thriller. Machiavelli's work is not short changed either, so you will derive a good account of all the major works, and many of the minor ones. Jonathan Keeble's performance is stunning. A lot of times I feel that readers do not understand what they are reading, and it becomes quite difficult to follow what is happening whenever the discussion becomes even mildly complex. Definitely not in this case. I do not speak Italian so I cannot say that the numerous Italian passages (very brief, usually book titles) are pronounced perfectly, but certainly there was nothing jarring as there often is.
One thing I forgot. Perhaps I am getting slow of comprehension, but I played this at 90% speed. It sounded perfect.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mick B
- 23-06-23
Much more about his times than his life
This is much more about the times in which Machiavelli lived, than Machiavelli’s own life, which I found disappointing.
There’s a lot of historical facts (this happened, then that happened), but little analysis, and even less about the man himself.
Competently narrated as usual by Jonathan Keeble, but I’m afraid after soldiering on for several hours, I had to admit defeat.
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