Book Review: "Machiavelli: His Life and Times" by Alexander Lee

I spent a very long time reading Machiavelli back when I was in university. I wrote a number of papers on him (only one of which I was able to release in part - but not the whole thing). If you would like to read the only released partial paper, then you can do so by clicking here. I have studied how Machiavellian authority pervades over the stage of the 16th and 17th centuries and honestly, I have been always pleasantly surprised at the amount of fame Machiavelli garnered in his own time. After this, I covered bits and pieces of Machiavellian theories on my M.A, without much luck I saw, when it came to early German film. However, I was still able to apply the theoretics of the Italian Political Philosopher to the more modern ideas eyed in more modern movies. But that wasn’t really the point. I have never really read a biography on Machiavelli, rather I have never really read an amazing biography on Machiavelli. That was until I came across Alexander Lee’s biography of Machiavelli - including contextual devices and ideas on where the theories that Machiavelli had, came from. To be honest, I do not think I have read a biography like this on any historical figure, let alone just Niccolo Machiavelli himself. It was a brilliant book that I stayed up until 4am the next day finishing because I was engrossed in Machiavelli’s world.

Firstly, we start before Machiavelli even exists. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is that it covered everything that was going on around Italy and so, we get a real feel for why Machiavelli was writing the way he was. It’s a real eye-opener because Renaissance Italy is not all amazing and pretty as everyone seems to think it is, instead it is filled with war and poverty from every angle. And then the Borgias come in. But after the fall of the Borgias, we get this chapter of war and destruction. Machiavelli is described as moving to Florence, or rather, running to Florence. I think this part really says a lot about Machiavelli because he has the nerve to run away, but he also has the guts to know what he wants and when he wants it. In the background you can almost hear “I Want it All” by Queen playing as Machiavelli runs away from Florence and scurries into the distance sunset.

One thing I love about this book is that you do not have to be a Machiavelli expert to read it, you do not even have to know who he is. You can pick it up and get engrossed in it and learn about him along the way. Another thing is that you can definitely be an expert in Machiavelli (I would not call myself an expert) and still learn new things about him along your reading journey. It is one of those books, few biography books, that has been written for everyone to read and enjoy. And my gosh is it enjoyable! The writing style is not only engrossing but it feels very realistic, there is no sugarcoating of what Renaissance Italy was really like, and the way it rises and falls in these times of great war and then of great prosperity, Alexander Lee manages to capture every aspect of Florence and not just the richness of the Borgias and the Medici etc. I feel like, even though I have studied Machiavelli for about eight years or so, I have really learned something new and exciting about the way his world worked in reality and not just the stuff about “The Prince” and everything surrounding the Medici at that time. It is truly a brilliant work of nonfiction, greatly researched and amazingly written. I will highly recommend that you get your copy as soon as possible.