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On 10 December 1513, in a letter to his friend Francesco Vettori, Niccolò Machiavelli described his days on his farm at Sant'Andrea in Percussina, outside Florence: snaring birds in the morning, playing cards with the locals at the inn, and in the evening changing out of his muddy clothes to spend the hours with the writers of antiquity. Earlier that year he had been arrested on suspicion of plotting against the newly returned Medici and tortured with the strappado, after fourteen years as a secretary and diplomat of the Florentine Republic. The short book he was writing, The Prince, argued that a new ruler must be ready to act against conventional morality when the state requires it. It was published in 1532, five years after his death, and placed on the Church's Index of Forbidden Books in 1559. The ten writers below share his subject: power as it is actually used, not as it ought to be.
By Lisanne Swart · 10 authors · Political philosophy · Power · Updated October 2026
Quick answer
If you like Machiavelli, start with Thucydides, whose history of the war between Athens and Sparta looks at power with the same cold eye two thousand years earlier, and Francesco Guicciardini, his friend and sharpest critic. For the modern version, read Robert Caro's The Power Broker. Further down is the king who wrote a book to refute him, months before starting a war of his own.
10 authors like Niccolò Machiavelli
Where to start if you loved Niccolò Machiavelli
If you want the ancient version, read Thucydides.
The Melian Dialogue in Book 5 of his history is the place to begin.
If you want the argument against him, read Frederick the Great.
Anti-Machiavel (1740): a chapter-by-chapter reply from a future king.
If you want a friend's critique, read Francesco Guicciardini.
His Ricordi: short maxims from a man who held real power in the same years.
If you want power in a modern city, read Robert Caro.
The Power Broker (1974): how one unelected man reshaped New York.
If you have only read The Prince, try the Discourses on Livy (published 1531).
Machiavelli's longer book on how republics rise and survive, which shows his commitment to republican government.
Frequently asked questions about authors like Niccolò Machiavelli
Who writes like Machiavelli?
Thucydides and Kautilya wrote about power with the same realism long before him; Francesco Guicciardini and Thomas Hobbes continued the argument after him. Robert Caro and Robert Greene are the modern writers closest to his subject.
What should I read after The Prince?
Machiavelli's own Discourses on Livy, then the Melian Dialogue in Thucydides, then Frederick the Great's Anti-Machiavel (1740) for the case against him.
Is Robert Greene like Machiavelli?
Greene's The 48 Laws of Power (1998) draws heavily on Machiavelli and turns his observations into rules. Machiavelli writes about the state and about republics; Greene writes about personal advantage.
Was The Prince meant as satire?
Some readers, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, argued that it was really a warning to republics. But Machiavelli dedicated it to Lorenzo de' Medici, and his letters show he hoped it would win him employment.
Why was The Prince banned?
The Catholic Church placed it on the Index of Forbidden Books in 1559, and Machiavelli's name became shorthand for amoral cunning.
Which Machiavelli book should I read first?
The Prince (written 1513, published 1532) is short and the obvious start. The Discourses on Livy are longer and show his republican side, and his comedy Mandragola shows that he was also funny.
Sources
- Niccolò Machiavelli — Wikipedia
- Francesco Guicciardini — Wikipedia
- Arthashastra — Wikipedia
- Anti-Machiavel — Wikipedia
List last reviewed 31 October 2026.
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