The Prince, a Guide Book for Powerful Men

In another irony, it was while he was in the political wilderness that machiavelli used his enforced leisure to write the books that have secured his lasting renown. In addition to tackling a history of florence, he wrote a set of discourses analyzing livy's history of rome. These are essential reading for any one who wants to understand Machiavelli's political thought because he thought about politics historically.