Insights into Machiavelli’s Personal and Intellectual Development.

This book represents a valuable contribution to understanding Machiavelli, by linking his ideas with the life and context in which they were developed. While those analyzing Machiavelli have often drawn upon aspects of his life—e.g., by recognizing that one of the purposes of The Prince was to request reinstatement into the halls of power—it is valuable to understand the progression of his thoughts in concert with his experiences. His works did not emerge from his head in isolation, like Athena springing forth from the head of Zeus. Rather, they need to be grounded not only in Renaissance Italy, but in his own direct observations and interactions.

The greatest strength of Vivanti’s book lies in characterizing the lesser-known portions of Machiavelli’s life and his less famous works. Copious introductions to The Prince and The Discourses mention that they were written shortly after the Medicis returned to power in Florence, resulting in Machiavelli’s loss of office, imprisonment, and exile to his farm. The same events are also widely recounted in articles and books about Machiavelli. However, Vivanti’s thoughtful characterizations of Machiavelli’s life and works go well beyond this. While little is known of Machiavelli’s youth, Vivanti describes what details exist and what they foreshadow. Machiavelli’s early career, including his interactions with Leonardo da Vinci and Cesare Borgia, is described in connection with what he wrote at that time. His experiences creating a militia informed his subsequent works, including The Art of War (no connection to Sun Tzu’s identically named work, of which Machiavelli had no knowledge). Vivanti connects Machiavelli’s observations during diplomatic travels to France and Germany to writings that drew directly upon those experiences, while also foreshadowing elements of Machiavelli’s more famous works. He discusses Machiavelli’s relationships with other Renaissance thinkers, including their thoughtful correspondence, some of which contained the groundwork for more in-depth analysis. This background also helps to contextualize parts of that correspondence that are notable in their own right, like the letter from Machiavelli to Francesco Guicciardini in which he describes going into his study and asking questions of the ancients.

Throughout Vivanti’s description of Machiavelli’s life, the chaos of the times is apparent. Machiavelli experienced wars among the various states of Italy, the toppling of governments, rule by religious extremists, and external invasions. His well-known loathing of mercenaries, and his insistence that a secure state must depend on its own military, both emerge clearly from his own life experiences.

Overall, Niccolò Machiavelli: An Intellectual Biography provides insights regarding Machiavelli’s personal and intellectual development, focusing on the interplay between them. It is a worthy addition to the shelf of anyone seeking to understand great thoughts that emerged from a particular person, place, and time, but are themselves timeless.

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Our Reviewer: Dr. Scott Savitz is a defense researcher in the Washington, DC area. He earned his doctorate and a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Yale University. A senior engineer at the RAND Corporation. He has led research on such diverse subjects as employment of unmanned maritime vehicles, the impact of non-lethal weapons, addressing threats from naval mines, testing of autonomous systems, gaps in Arctic military capabilities, how to make airbases less vulnerable, and many other topics. He is the author of The Fall of the Republic, a fictionalized account of the Catiline Conspiracy in ancient Rome. His previous reviews include Machiavelli's Legacy: The Prince After Five Hundred Years, The Machiavellian Enterprise: A Commentary on The Prince, Machiavelli's Three Romes, Great Power Clashes along the Maritime Silk Road, The Crisis of Catiline, War Underground: A History of Military Mining in Siege Warfare, Strategy and Grand Strategy, The Quotable Machiavelli, and Greenland at War.

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Note: Niccolò Machiavelli is also available in hard cover & e-editions.

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