Recommended by
- Peter Thiel — Something in these pages planted itself deep into Thiel's mind when he first read it long ago source ↗
Summary
Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy is a commentary on the first ten books of the Roman historian Livy, in which Machiavelli draws out the principles of republican government, the founding of states, and the rise and fall of institutions. It is a founding text of modern political thought.
For founders
For founders, the Discourses is the source of the realism about institutions, power, and the founding of enduring organizations that Thiel admires. It's about how to build and maintain things that last.