Overview

An acclaimed historian illuminates today's political situation by examining the relationship between governing and storytelling, from the Middle Ages to the ""post-truth"" present, in these engaging essays. An acclaimed historian illuminates today's political situation by examining the relationship between governing and storytelling, from the Middle Ages to the ""post-truth"" present, in these engaging essays. In the wake of Donald Trump's election, renowned medievalist Patrick Boucheron delivered a powerful, probing series of lectures on ""political fictions"" in the context of rising authoritarianism and populism. Adapted here for the first time in English, they offer key insights into how we arrived at our current global moment and what history can teach us about moving forward. Long before Trump parlayed his reality TV character into a presidential victory with the MAGA movement, aspiring rulers have used the art of storytelling and the power of fable to control others. Discussing seminal works from Machiavelli's The Prince and Hobbes's Leviathan to Orwell's 1984 and the writings of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt, Boucheron explores the profound interconnectedness of political theory and fiction, and the tension between politics and the political.

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9781635423754

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Reviews

“In this erudite collection of lectures, medievalist Boucheron…considers the origins and features of ‘political fictions,’ or the ‘stories, values, images, and partially imagined memories’ that may facilitate a tyrant’s rise to power…conveyed with elegance and enthusiasm. This glitters with jewels of insight.” —Publishers Weekly Praise for Machiavelli: “This energetic little book…offers a knowing guide to Machiavelli’s life and work…Boucheron makes a clever case.” —New York Times “To reframe our understanding of Machiavelli, Mr. Boucheron asks, Who was he writing for?…If The Prince was meant to help ordinary people understand what their leaders were up to, then it is not a handbook for the power-crazed but a means of stopping them.” —Wall Street Journal “Packed with insights into how Machiavelli has been construed and misconstrued down the ages and why his ideas still resonate so powerfully today.” —Financial Times

Praise for Machiavelli: “This energetic little book…offers a knowing guide to Machiavelli’s life and work…Boucheron makes a clever case.” —New York Times “To reframe our understanding of Machiavelli, Mr. Boucheron asks, Who was he writing for?…If The Prince was meant to help ordinary people understand what their leaders were up to, then it is not a handbook for the power-crazed but a means of stopping them.” —Wall Street Journal “Packed with insights into how Machiavelli has been construed and misconstrued down the ages and why his ideas still resonate so powerfully today.” —Financial Times

Praise for Machiavelli: “This energetic little book…offers a knowing guide to Machiavelli’s life and work…Boucheron makes a clever case.” —New York Times “To reframe our understanding of Machiavelli, Mr. Boucheron asks, Who was he writing for?…If The Prince was meant to help ordinary people understand what their leaders were up to, then it is not a handbook for the power-crazed but a means of stopping them.” —Wall Street Journal

“In this erudite collection of lectures, medievalist Boucheron…considers the origins and features of ‘political fictions,’ or the ‘stories, values, images, and partially imagined memories’ that may facilitate a tyrant’s rise to power…conveyed with elegance and enthusiasm. This glitters with jewels of insight.” —Publishers Weekly “This book effectively demonstrates how these old fictions continue to influence contemporary politics…thought-provoking…This interdisciplinary work is highly recommended for students and scholars of political science, philosophy, and medieval European history.” —Library Journal Praise for Machiavelli: “This energetic little book…offers a knowing guide to Machiavelli’s life and work…Boucheron makes a clever case.” —New York Times “To reframe our understanding of Machiavelli, Mr. Boucheron asks, Who was he writing for?…If The Prince was meant to help ordinary people understand what their leaders were up to, then it is not a handbook for the power-crazed but a means of stopping them.” —Wall Street Journal “Packed with insights into how Machiavelli has been construed and misconstrued down the ages and why his ideas still resonate so powerfully today.” —Financial Times

Author Information

Patrick Boucheron is a renowned French historian. He previously taught medieval history at the cole normale superieure and the University of Paris, and is currently a professor of history at the Coll ge de France. He is the author of twelve books, including Trace and Aura- The Recurring Lives of St. Ambrose of Milan (Other Press, 2022) and Machiavelli- The Art of Teaching People What to Fear (Other Press, 2020), and the editor of five, including France in the World (Other Press, 2019), which became a bestseller in France. Willard Wood grew up in France and has translated more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction from the French. He has won the Lewis Galanti re Award for Literary Translation and received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Translation. He lives in Norfolk, Connecticut.

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