The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior

By Paul Strathern,

Book cover of The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior: The Intersecting Lives of Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped

Book description

In the autumn of 1502 three giants of the Renaissance period - Cesare Borgia, Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli - set out on one of the most treacherous military campaigns of the period. Cesare Borgia was a ferocious military leader whose name was synonymous with brutality and whose reputation…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

My novel about World War II Italy depicts only one of the many times when the peninsula was a battleground from the Alps to Sicily. This book is narrative nonfiction that recounts medieval history with three extraordinary personalities that came together in 1502: Leonardo DaVinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia.

Borgia was the son of Pope Alexander VI, and in his brutal campaign to forge dozens of warring states into a unified empire, he employed Leonardo to design and build seige engines, while negotiating with Machiavelli for the freedom of Florence. Borgia later became The Prince in Macchiavelli’s book on…

Want books like The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior.

Browse books like The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior

Book cover of Signora Da Vinci
Book cover of Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo
Book cover of The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,187

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Italy, the Renaissance, and Leonardo da Vinci?

Italy 410 books
The Renaissance 97 books