Gustav Wik

The Prince Condensed Gustav Wik

Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince" is half a millennium old but is more important now than ever before. The book is easy to understand and your heart knows that its suggestions are true. It describes our endless combat for power. It tells us how we may become princes and how we then keep that position. I have condensed The Prince into few words. Historical accounts are omitted and replaced by hand-dyed drawings of 60 flowers and one snake, to assist attention and contemplation. The illustrations also remind you that conflicts and politics relentlessly change, whereas the social mechanisms that create them remain the same. When you contemplate Machiavelli's words, you will see our current political world. You will see a new American prince who struggles like a lion to gain control of his land. You will understand why nobody can overthrow the president of Turkey and how Russia's president carefully consolidated and increased his powers with a fox's astuteness. On a personal level, you will see why or why you did not, strengthen and expand your mandate at home, among friends, or at your workplace. At a personal level, praiseworthy or not, these words of Machiavelli will turn this book into a practical guide for ensuring and advancing your dominion.