Machiavelli based The Prince on his profound understanding of human nature. This short treatise on Renaissance statecraft and power has been controversial and inspiring since its first publication nearly 500 years ago. Machiavelli's analysis of the ways men seize, retain, and lose power represented the first expos of realpolitik and it has been used ever since as a handbook for manipulating events to one's own advantage. Here, Machiavelli's text is interpreted for the modern day world of business. Tim Phillips's interpretation of Machiavelli's work is not a substitute for the original; its pu.