The Prince: A Monkey's Review
Like it or not, the office environment is in fact a political one, and that leads a lot of us to seek advice from various sources. “The Prince” is one of those books, along with “The Art of War,” that’s supposed to give us that political savvy, the logic being that the guidance contained within its pages for 16th-century princes can still be applied to today’s office monkey.
Although it’s a worthwhile read, “The Prince” shouldn’t be experienced for that reason alone. In fact, much of the text’s reputation among the general public stems from its well-known proposition that it can be more important to APPEAR moral and upright than to actually be so. Deceiving and manipulating others to achieve the stability of the state was something Machiavelli himself witnessed in the Florentine courts of the time, and it still rigorously debated to this day (as it should be).
Here’s the kicker, though: most of that aforementioned “OMG SCANDALOUS!!!” stuff is concentrated in one paragraph of one chapter (number 18). The Elizabethan courts of the 1500s didn’t take kindly to that, which contributed to Machiavelli’s bad press. So it would seem that the scheming, controversial plotting Machiavelli is famous for is a bit overblown.
That’s not to say there aren’t some excellent nuggets of wisdom here, especially in the latter half. In fact, the statements I found most valuable weren’t necessarily political in nature. Here are two:
“One should never wish to fall down in the belief that you will find someone to pick you up.”
And,
“Besides this, extraordinary things have been seen here brought about by God: the sea has been opened, a cloud has shown you the road; the rock has poured out water; here it has rained manna; everything has come together for your greatness. The remainder you must do yourself.”
So, does “The Prince” put you in the mood to boot up your copy of “Rome: Total War?” Yes.
Does it make you contemplate the nature of man and how he will respond to change? Yes.
But will it tell you how to weasel your way into your boss’ seat as soon as he lets his defenses down? Probably not.
Read it anyway monkeys (unless you’ve done it already), and see if you think Machiavelli is telling you something I missed.
Monkey’s Review 1: Barbarians At the Gate
Monkey’s Review 2: The Financier
Monkey’s Review 3: Decision Points
Monkey’s Review 4: Debunkery
Monkey’s Review 5: When Genius Failed
Monkey’s Review 6: Monkey Business
Monkey’s Review 7: Death Of The Banker
Monkey’s Review 8: A Journey
Monkey’s Review 9: Damn It Feels Good To Be A Banker
Monkey’s Review 10: The Quants
Monkey’s Review 11: All About Hedge Funds
Monkey’s Review 12: The Unlikely Disciple
Monkey’s Review 13: Adventure Capitalist
Monkey’s Review 14: The Hedge Fund Book
Monkey’s Review 15: Investing In Hedge Fund of Funds
Monkey’s Review 16: Hilarity Ensues
Monkey’s Review 17: The Prince
Monkey’s Review 18: Markets Never Forget (But People Do)
Monkey’s Review 19: The Money Culture






Comments
Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology suggests that it is best to posit altruistic aims but in reality be aggressive. Probably the best answers to how to deal with office politics will be found in that discipline. The office has a pecking order.
a man wil forgive the murder
a man wil forgive the murder of a father more easily than the loss of a patrimony
I'm glad you got something
I'm glad you got something out of it. Most people that I know who read The Prince and the Art of War did so in order to tell other people.
RagnarDanneskjold: I'm glad
I'm glad you got something out of it. Most people that I know who read The Prince and the Art of War did so in order to tell other people.
anyone who brags about reading these books has missed their point entirely.
melvvvar: RagnarDanneskjold
I'm glad you got something out of it. Most people that I know who read The Prince and the Art of War did so in order to tell other people.
anyone who brags about reading these books has missed their point entirely.
exactly.
Normally your reviews are ok,
Normally your reviews are ok, but this one was terrible.
Wow #17 - Flesh, nice review
Wow #17 - Flesh, nice review and good job reading so much.
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You need to come up with a
You need to come up with a catchy rating method... e.g. thumbs up thumbs down.... maybe bananas?
Think about it.
"Call me a dreamer, but one
"Call me a dreamer, but one day, my name will become an adjective for everything cynical and untrustworthy in human nature." --Machiavelli (from "America" Daily Show textbook)
Consider me in the camp that views The Prince as political satire.
mbaer2012: You need to come
You need to come up with a catchy rating method... e.g. thumbs up thumbs down.... maybe bananas?
Think about it.
yeah, was thinking he could do a Rating system like
1 Banana = Could barely finish / poor
2 Bananas = Below Average but not horrible
3 Bananas = Average, Some useful stuff, but not life changing
4 Bananas = Solid book, Interesting and Worth a read
5 Bananas = Excellent book. Must read.
He could go 1-5 and be allowed to give 1/2 bananas. So if a book is great, but not AMAZING, he could give it a 4.5 bananas.
Flesh, thoughts? Of course, you'd have to go back an rate all the previous books...I'd put it in bold at the end of each review.
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Id recommend the version
Id recommend the version edited by Angelo Codevilla - his introduction is excellent. Also, his book War Ends and Means sums up concepts from Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Tacitus, Washington, Clausewitz etc and gives neat examples of them in practice.
Plus you can find War ends and Means on half.com for 75 cents. Just saying.
“...all truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
- Schopenhauer
The Prince (Il Principe) is
The Prince (Il Principe) is quite a controversial book - ethically speaking - but nevertheless a MUST read for someone who's into philosophy, not just banking :P
I've got a book suggestion for you to read and review: The Anarchist Banker ( writer: Fernando Pessoa)
Keep up the good work!
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