Machiavelli and Guicciardini: Politics and History in Sixteenth Century Florence

“It is precisely with the emergence of history as we know it today that Professor Gilbert’s important book is concerned. . . . Instead of treating these two great figures in isolation, Professor Gilbert puts them into the context of their times, into the stream of political thinking and historical writing of which they were a part. . . .His book is the fruit of years of writing of which they were a part. . . .His book is the fruit of years of original research among Florentine archives and of careful thought about the problems of Renaissance politics and historiography.” ―F.A. Yates, New York Times Review of Books

In Felix Gilbert’s skilled analysis, the figures of Niccolo Machiavelli, whose writing changed the way people think about politics, and Francesco Guicciardini, whose History of Italy is one of the first classics of modern historical writing, provide important clues to interpreting the Renaissance.