While it was fascinating to see that Nicolo Machiavelli was a little bit like Dennis the Menace, in fact, almost the class clown at times, but brilliant, person, the book really really dragged much of the time. I loved the fact that the author points out time and again how Machiavelli was marked by his family experience of the debt that his father inherited, as well as Nicolo's habit of questioning everything. And his common Sense way of dealing with pretty much everyone. And I love that incident of taking advantage of the credulity of the monks to get better treatment based on their assumptions of importance. The sad thing is that it may be human nature to assume that hierarchy marks importance, and to believe in an inherited right to command. That he was able to rise above such ideas is interesting, and also important to note that not everyone has to be a product of their own times. We can rise above the times that we live in, and we can learn not to be hierarchical. It just takes a collective effort of education, and willingness to believe in the best of ourselves, and to work to bring out the best in ourselves.