{"product_id":"the-way-to-hell-machiavelli-for-catastrophic-times-9780817361587","title":"The Way to Hell: Machiavelli for Catastrophic Times","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn incisive and erudite survey of Machiavelli, the catastrophes of his times and ours, and his counsel for responding to an era of constant crises\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Catastrophe looms. Political, environmental, epidemic, and military crises arrive with increasing frequency. In \u003ci\u003eThe Way to Hell\u003c\/i\u003e, Nathan Crick argues that our perilous times call for the strongest medicine in the Western canon: Machiavelli. Crick reminds contemporary readers about the Florentine master's advice--that one must learn the road to Hell precisely to avoid taking it. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Like a knowledgeable friend, Crick offers contemporary readers a guide to Machiavelli's world, work, and warnings. He takes in the sweep of Western history, comparing Machiavelli's work with ancient sources such as Cicero and Thucydides. And as Machiavelli has never stopped provoking comment, Crick treats readers to a feast of responses to Machiavelli's work--caustic, learned, and humorous--in the five centuries since he lived. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Including both Machiavelli's best-known works, \u003ci\u003eThe Prince\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDiscourses on Livy\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as his personal correspondence and comic plays, Crick asks anew the questions that bedeviled Machiavelli's beloved Florentine republic: When is force necessary? When are lies justified? Is cruelty defensible? When does social protest slip into violent revolution? What is the correct response to catastrophe? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Like Machiavelli himself, \u003ci\u003eThe Way to Hell\u003c\/i\u003e is witty, stimulating, and challenging. In a world seemingly on the road to Hell, Machiavelli offers an alternative route. His bracing vision exhorts readers to see the dangers in their path and to take action with vigor and determination. Far from a vision of cynicism, Machiavelli offers a beacon of hope for a world that seems on the brink.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNathan Crick\u003c\/b\u003e is professor of communication at Texas A\u0026amp;M University. He is author of \u003ci\u003eDemocracy and Rhetoric: John Dewey on the Arts of Becoming\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRhetoric and Power: The Drama of Classical Greece\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Keys of Power: The Rhetoric and Politics of Transcendentalism\u003c\/i\u003e and is editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Rhetoric of Fascism\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University Alabama Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50901487714578,"sku":"9780817361587","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7540aa34-ac55-4eef-af8e-22b76f30063c.jpg?v=1738427386","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-way-to-hell-machiavelli-for-catastrophic-times-9780817361587","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}