Machiavelli for Moms - by Suzanne Evans (Paperback)

About the Book

An enlightening parenting manifesto showing how the strategies used in Machiavelli's masterpiece, "The Prince," can be employed to reign in a rambunctious family. Evans shows modern-day mothers and fathers how to use his advice to take back their own kingdoms.

Book Synopsis

Running a kingdom is a lot like running a household. Or so says Suzanne Evans, who shares the story of her crazy yet brilliant year-long experiment: to "rule" one disobedient family using Machiavelli's masterwork The Prince.

A mother of four, Suzanne Evans is fed up with tantrums, misbehavior, and general household chaos. Desperate to get the upper hand, she turns to Machiavelli's famous sixteenth-century political treatise, The Prince, and wonders: Can Machiavelli's rules on warfare and statecraft be suc-cessfully applied to parenting?

Using The Prince as a guide, Evans embarks on an unlikely experiment in "power parenting" and quickly learns that Machiavellian maxims can go a long way when running a kingdom--and a household.

- Study the actions of illustrious men: How to lead by example.

- It is dangerous to be overly generous: A good ruler sets limits.

- It is better to be feared than loved: Sometimes a leader has to be a meanie to ensure the security and obedience of the people.

Heralded as a "funny, creative, new parenting guide" (Parade.com), Machiavelli for Moms offers one woman's unorthodox approach to modern motherhood--and stands as a manifesto for other moms willing to act on Machiavelli's sometimes shocking but ever practical advice.

Review Quotes

"At her wits' end with her four uncontrollable children, a mom turns for advice to - of all places - the philosophical wisdom in the 1532 book 'The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli. Toward the end of the yearlong 'experiment, ' she had to face 'the ultimate Machiavellian question: Is it better to be feared than loved?'"

"Suzanne Evans humorously adapts the Renaissance political philosopher's sometimes ruthless precepts to running a family."

About the Author

Suzanne Evans is a former divorce lawyer and business/sports reporter who holds a PhD in history from UC Berkeley. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Business Journal, and other national publications. She is also a freelance writer for The History Channel website and the creator of The History Chef, a popular food history blog (LincolnsLunch.blogspot.com). She lives in Newport Beach, California, with her husband and four young children