Here is the world s most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor The Prince even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince . . . a king . . . a president. When， in 1512， Machiavelli was removed from his post in his beloved Florence， he resolved to set down a treatise on leadership that was practical， not idealistic. In The Prince he envisioned would be unencumbered by ordinary ethical and moral values; his prince would be man and beast， fox and lion. Today， this small sixteenth-century masterpiece has become essential reading for every student of government， and is the ultimate book on power politics.