The Art of War (1521) is the only book published by Niccolo Machiavelli during his lifetime, and he saw it as one of his finest achievements. The Art of War develops many themes introduced in Machiavelli’s earlier works “The Prince” and “Discourses” and presents them as the collected wisdom of a fictional leader Lord Fabrizio Colonna. The book is constructed as a series of dialogues supposedly held during a summer afternoon spent in the Orti Oricellari gardens in Florence.
The stated aim is “To honor and reward virtue, not to have contempt for poverty, to esteem the modes and orders of military discipline, to constrain citizens to love one another, to live without factions, to esteem less the private than the public good, and other such things which could easily be added in these times.” As in “The Prince” Machiavelli develops the idea of limited warfare, where force is used as an extension of politics, but now also introduces elements of psychological warfare. In the first part of the book Machiavelli strongly warns that any state establishing a standing army must take special measures are taken to prevent military leaders gaining too much control. If the state ignores this it risks a military coup: something we still see today.
The Art of War was a standard text on military tactics for three hundred years, only losing favour when developments in the range and accuracy of firearms made the Linear Tactics it described obsolete.
This translation by Henry Neville was published in 1675 when The Art of War was still considered a practical military manual. – Summary by Clive Catterall
Other Audiobook
Audiobook: Chronicles of Canada Volume 16 – The War Chief of the Six Nations: A Chronicle of Joseph Brant
‘Thayendanegea!’ The name was taken from the great book of nature. It was a birth-name
Audiobook: Extracts from a Diary Kept by the Rev. R. Burrows during Heke’s War in the North, in 1845
An eye-witness account of the so-called Flagstaff War, fought between Maori warriors, led by Hone
Audiobook: Three Friends; A Story of Rugby in the Forties
This is a novel that describes the life of three friends while they are attending
Audiobook: Historical Mysteries
Edited by Andrew Lang, Historical Mysteries is a collection of infamous unsolved mysteries from various
Audiobook: Little Minister
Before “Peter Pan” came “The Little Minister”, J.M. Barrie’s first published novel. This is not
Audiobook: Adventures of Tom Sawyer (version 2 dramatic reading)
Growing up on the banks of the Mississippi river, a mischievous boy named Tom Sawyer
Audiobook: The Life of St. Teresa
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de
Audiobook: South American Jungle Tales
The stories in South American Jungle Tales center on the relationships between people and the
Audiobook: Dream Coach
The Dream Coach was named a Newbery Honor Book in 1925. Anne Parrish’s original stories
Audiobook: Pussy Black-Face: The Story of a Kitten and Her Friends
“My name is Pussy Black-Face, and I am a naughty young kitten. I wish I
Audiobook: Bible (KJV) 06: Joshua
The history of the Israelites from the death of Moses to the death of Joshua.
Audiobook: Baseball Joe at Yale
“Baseball Joe” Matson’s great ambition is to become a professional baseball pitcher. The Baseball Joe