The Histories Royal Collector S Edition Annotated Case Laminate Hardcover With Jacket

The Histories of Herodotus serves as a record of ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures in Asia, Africa and Greece. It remains one of the most important sources about the study of history in the Western world.

The Discourses is a work of political history and philosophy. Machiavelli discusses what can be learned from many eras including contemporary politics. He describes political greatness as something which comes and goes among peoples in cycles.

Anna Komnene describes the political and military history of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of her father, Emperor Alexios I. The text documents the Crusades and the conflicting perceptions of East and West in the early 12th century.

The Decameron is a collection of 100 tales told by ten young people sheltering in a secluded villa outside Florence to escape the Black Death. To pass the evenings, each member of the party tells a story each night.

Machiavelli draws on his extensive historical knowledge and experience as a statesman to examine the reasons that Kings, Emperors, Dukes and governments have thrived or crumbled, while highlighting the principles that guided them. In each case Machiavelli suggests a set of principles that any leader would find difficult to follow, but impossible to ignore. The Prince has had a profound influence on political thought over the past 500 years, so much so that the term 'Machiavellian' is used to describe one who deceives and manipulates others. This is likely derived from Machiavelli's view that "it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state." Machiavelli continues to provide an understanding of how world leaders think, and why certain decisions are made. A must read for the politically inclined and those interested in world events and the affairs of state. This case laminate collector's edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket.

The Social Contract theorizes that there is no rightful duty to submit to a state that enslaves its people. In a desired social contract, everyone is free because they all forfeit the same number of rights and impose the same duties on all.

In The Bhagavad Gita, prince Arjuna is filled with despair about the violence and death that war will cause. He seeks Krishna's counsel, who tells him to fulfill his warrior duty through "selfless action."

The History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the 431-404 BC war between Sparta and Athens. It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian historian who also happened to serve as an Athenian general during the war.