Chronological, one dimensional (after 13 hours in)

Caveat: I am 13 hours in and have 9 to go. Maybe my criticism is adressed in the remaining part of the audiobook. However, even if it is I still consider it to be relevant because you will be informed of what not to expect during the first 13 hours.

This is interesting material. The term machiavellan is sometimes used synonymously for a realistic, manipulative sometimes downright cynical approach to politics and political relationships. This book gives you an idea how young Niccolo Machiavelli came into a position where such learnings were of relevance to him. He was thrust into the world of northern Italian power politics as a young diplomatic representative of Florence, a city state which at the time was rich but incapable of exerting military dominance over its rivals or even clients. A likeable and intelligent youth, Niccolo spends weeks and months on diplomatic missions trying to appease rivals, satisfy allies, coerce clients. Often spending days on end with nothing to do in foreign palaces wondering what his contacts are thinking, what they are trying to achieve and whether they are lying. This book takes us there. We join him on the back of his horse or mule, trodding over mountain passes. Worrying about the limits of his expense account. Reading his correspondence with city officials back in Florence, where there was seemingly a committee for every problem. Hearing about his private worries or his bawdy accounts of his visit in a not so respectable house of pleasure to a friend. All of this is interesting, to a point. And it helps you understand why he wrote down what he learnt and how he learnt it. However, one wonders whether a chronological exhaustive account was necessary to convey this point. At the same time, a lot of information is missing. We are basically thrust into Northern Italian power politics as novices. Very little background is given. We start our career just like Niccolo started his. However, I do expect he will have been briefed more extensively on the developments that had gone on prior to his involvement. The book continues in this vein. We are mostly left to guess about the intents and motivations of Machiavelli's counterparts in just the same manner that he does. As if this were a first person narrative from his perspective. While the author apparently went deep into Florentine archives, he doesn't shed light in equal measure on the background and the internal discussions of the other actors such as the Borgia, French, Papal state or Pisa, among others. There is little to no summary or analysis of the different conflicts and we are left to wonder how much the book's subject really contributed to their resolution or non-resolution. It is all (just) a long chronology of Machiavelli's life and actions and letters.

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