Machiavelli lived from 1469 to 1527. The philosopher Bertrand Russell referred to Machiavelli's most well-known book, The Prince, as a "gangsters' handbook". And while there's no doubt that certain people have read and used it as such, I think that if we put it into the context of when it was written, which was Italy, especially Florence, in the 15th and 16th centuries, it will be easier to judge Machiavelli's reasons for writing it. Now, the Italy of that period was made up of a number of city states, often at war with each other. Add to that threats from foreign powers, especially France, and it was a very unstable and dangerous situation. Machiavelli loved his home city, Florence, and wanted to protect its culture, history and above all independence at all costs. One way to do this was to establish an army of Florentines loyal to the city state of Florence. Much of Machiavelli's career was taken up with this issue. It must be remembered, though, that he led an active civic life, was deeply into politics, and was an ambassador for Florence. In this way, he got to meet and observe some of the key players of the time and through this came to understand the nature of power and how to hold on to it.