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Annotated Bibliography/Secondary Sources
Machiavelli
Sergio M Davila
HIST 711
Development of Western Freedoms
Liberty University
Professor Sean Turchin
September 21, 2025
INTRODUCTION
Niccolo Machiavelli was quite the intriguing philosopher. He got everyone to think about
how leaders should lead their people. Machiavelli did tout the idea of keeping power by
whatever means necessary. Some also tout his ideas for civic participation for the common folk.
In his most popular book, The Prince, many see this as a primer for dictators. Autocrats from
Zimbabwe, Belarus, and Russia have seen this as a “how-to” of leadership.
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Mikael Hörnqvist. Machiavelli and Empire, 2004.
Machiavelli’s concepts on how leaders can hold on to their empires is the focus on this
book by Hörnqvist. He details this 15th century thinker quite well in his book, particularly with
his book The Prince. Hörnqvist details quite well on how the pollical climate was so charged at
the time, what with new leaders popping up that were thirsty for power. The book peruses the
fact that Italy was divided by various city-states that were at war with each other. The whole
idea here was to try to unite Italy as one state. But who would be the leader? Machiavelli was
all about trying to find the most ruthless leader that could keep power by any means necessary.
Machiavelli’s vision of the perfect empire was delved into vividly. Hörnqvist also gets into how
Machiavelli’s ideas have influenced leaders and thinkers such as Karl Marx and Joseph Stalin.
Bigongiari, Dino. The Political Ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas: Representative Selections. New York,
1953.
Bigongiari’s writing here peruses the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, who Machiavelli
honored with his work. The way of how the government works within the state is focused here,
as well as the nature of the state, government’s role, and the intermingling of church and state.
Aquinas was said to have believed that government was there for the good of the people that
live within their domain. Promoting the common good and order in society was essential for
things to move smoothly. Protecting the rights of its people should be the goal of all
governments, as well as promoting the spiritual and moral well-being of the people. Machiavelli,
while flawed still believed in Aquinas’ contribution to political philosophy in believing that all
people should be able to keep with their rights and civic responsibilities as part of the natural
order.
Najemy, John M. The Cambridge Companion to Machiavelli. Cambridge University Press, 2010.
This reading is what you would call an anthology that introduced new readers to Nicolo
Machiavelli. In these readings they will see that Machiavelli was a well-known political theorist,
military scientist, writer, and philosopher. This book does a decent job of detailing the seventeen
essays that Machiavelli wrote such as, The Prince, Discourses on Livy, & The Art of War. These
readings cover Machiavelli’s ideas on government, humanism, democracy, and republicanism.
These readings also detail the jobs he had, including being an influencer on political thought,
political advisor, and diplomat.
Corrado Vivanti. Niccol Machiavelli: An Intellectual Biography. Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press, 2019.
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Vivanti’s book goes deep into the theories and philosophy of Niccolo Machiavelli. This
famous politician and philosopher is researched quite well in this tome. The analysis of his life,
from his early years to his later times as a writer and diplomat are dealt with here. Vivanti gives
a great perspective as to how Machiavelli’s philosophy fit in perfectly to the charged political
climate of Renaissance Italy. Vivanti opines that The Prince is mistaken as a manual for dictators.
Vivanti has stated that it can be read as a warning and critique on the folks who subscribe to this
type of leadership. He also strikes down the idea of Machiavelli being a brute who touts
dictators. He sees him as an innovative thinker whose approach to history can be considered as
forward-thinking and has some great ideas as a military scientist.
Thomas, Keith. The Ends of Life. OUP Oxford, 2010.
Mr. Thomas’ tome details the search that builds on the pursuit of the meaning of life in
England and Italy in the early modern period. The different ways certain people take different
paths to reach fulfillment are perused in this study. These pursuits can be religious devotion,
intellectual growth, involvement in government, or even just material pursuits. Despite cultural
differences, literary and historical sources from England and Italy are all given credence for their
great historical significance. Thomas does detail however, that there were certain religious
differences that made their ideas about secularism, individualism, and humanism which made
the pursuit of fulfillment different for the folks in England, who were more Protestant than
anything else and the people of Italy, who were staunchly Catholic.
Lee, Alexander. Machiavelli: His Life and Times. London: Picador, 2020.
In his book, Lee dives into great detail about the philosophies, politics, and personal life
of Niccolo Machiavelli. That being said, a great deal of the introduction deals with Machiavelli’s
youth. Then it details his growing up within his wealthy family. Gradually, there is much about
his secondary education and his university work, which aided in his studies as a diplomat and
politician. At this time, he grew up alongside the exploits of the Medici family. He was witness to
the scandals and grabs for power that happened with their reign within the 1400s-1500s in
Florence and Venice. The Prince, Machiavelli’s guide for leaders to keep power, is one of his
most popular and profound works that many have considered one of the biggest books to come
out of that era. One of the biggest points in the book is Machiavelli’s ideas on pragmatic
decision-making and that leadership should be kept by any means necessary. Lee, of course,
details Niccolo as a very complex and very contradictory figure. One example is that he was a
very dedicated public servant and believed that all citizens must serve for the good of the
country. Yet, he believed that leaders should be ruthless and shouldn’t be worried about
betraying their own allies in order to hold on to power.
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McCormick, John P. Machiavellian Democracy. New York: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
This tome by Mr. McCormick gives open criticism on the merits of democracy. Being
critical of democracy is something that Machiavelli is known for. Many that were supportive of
Machiavelli were even supporting to inject Machiavellian principles into democracy. Thankfully
there were critics that cried out against that idea. In this book, early ideas were that democracy
should be viewed as a form a power. McCormick believed in Machiavelli’s ideas of how civic
virtue can make a country great is believed by most. He also criticized the way many democratic
countries run things and proposed a huge makeover on that front, as he felt that modern
democracies are too narrow in how a leader should rule, which includes new rules for civil
engagement.
Belliotti, Raymond A, and Daniel J. Kapust. Machiavelli’s Secret the Soul of the Statesman. \
Albany State University Of New York Press, 2015.
Niccolò Machiavelli’s philosophy on politics is deeply perused in Belliotti and Kapust’s
book about the legendary philosopher. One of the main concepts in this book is challenging the
supposed crooked thinking of Machiavelli. His being a thinker who was considered immoral and
ruthless is debunked somewhat in this study. Some may even say that his theories were low-key
moral and that they promoted civil virtue among the citizens of whatever country these ideas
were targeted. One reason why his ideas were so bent on making leaders stronger was how was
exposed to the Medicis when he grew up in Florence.
Bock, Gisela. Machiavelli and Republicanism. Edited by Quenitin Skinner. Cambridge:
Cambridge Univ. Press, 1999.
Dr. Bock’s work on Niccolò Machiavelli’s political theories were well-examined and got
people thinking about whether his works were in defense of republicanism rather than a to-do
list for future autocrats. One of the biggest issues that Machiavelli dealt with as he was coming
up as a politician was that he grew up in the time of the Medicis, who in their long reign as a
family, were intent on keeping power as long as possible, by any means necessary. This type of
thinking morphed into the main tenets of his philosophy, which explore the importance of civic
virtue, participation in government activities, such as voting, and installing checks and balances
into government to avoid having a tyrant in power.
