The Prince: Adapted for the Contemporary Reader

Modern Classics, Book 1

By: Niccolò Machiavelli

Narrated by: Jack Henry Kison

Length: 2 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli.

• The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal.
• It was also in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning politics and ethics.
• This book has been carefully adapted into Modern English for best enjoyment.

©2019 James Harris (P)2019 James Harris

An Updated Classic with a solid reading.

“The Prince: Adapted for the Contemporary Reader by James Harris (Modern Classic Book 1”
Author: Niccolo Machiavelli (Translation by James Harris)
Publisher: James Harris 2019 (Self Published)

Narrator: Jack Henry Kison
Audio Book Release: May 13, 2019
Length: 2 hours and 56 minutes (Unabridged)

For the less truthful members of Generation X, The Prince by Machiavelli was “read” by angsty high school students for the purposes of raging against the machine; later recounted by would-be philosophers during college parties; and/or sporadically quoted in term papers impress the professor. For the rest of Generation X, we were first introduced to Machiavelli by the late great Tupac Shakur after his release from prison. I am of the Tupac category. Yes, of course, we had to read excerpts of The Prince during college, but God bless the one who read his work in entirety. I’d rather listen to Tupac, thank you very much. So, I was intrigued when given the chance to review this version of The Prince. There are various translations, but “adapted for the contemporary reader” caught my eye. I cannot tell you how faithful this version is to more to the more accepted versions in academic and scholarly circles, but this translation did the trick for me. If anything, I can boast finishing The Prince while mowing lawn within my own kingdom- eat your heart out Niccolò!

Kison, the narrator, provides a breathy and rather dental stop (the tongue is in contact with the upper teeth) reading, which for me was good, but my daughter found annoying. However, Kison is to be commended for adding some flair in a book about the two principal parts of governments: monarchies and republics. I suppose I can blame Kison when my 10 year to rage against whatever machines need toppling in her coming teen years. Time will tell.

I do recommend this narration for anyone who has read The Prince and needs a refresher, a high school student who doesn’t like to read, but may need to do so for class, or, if like me, has the desire to know a bit more about the man who inspired a great poet, rapper, and performer.

Note: I was provided a free audiobook copy at my request and voluntarily left this review.

review

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review"

it's The Prince

This was one of my favorite childhood books. Not the typical storyline (or any storyline) for sure, but still very engaging. Very clear and thoughtful narration. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Made my head hurt

The reading is robotic and mind-numbing and continues with half the needed punctuation and uses an odd pace forever and ever and ever and ever lol