SILVIA RUFFO-FIORE (ED.) NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MODERN CRITICISM AND SCHOLARSHIP Bibliographies and Indexes in Law and Political Science Number 13 New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. 810 pp. This is a magisterial work of bibliography. Building on Achille Norsa's Il principio della forza nel pensiero politico di Niccolò Machiavelli (Milan, 1936), Silvia Ruffo-Fiore has produced an exhaustive listing with annotation and indexes of all material relating to Machiavelli and his work published since 1935. It supersedes Franco Fido's Machiavelli (Palermo, 1965) by recording and annotating articles and reviews as well as books and by bringing up to date the large industry of Machiavelli scholarship developed during the last quarter century. The listings themselves appear complete, the result of computer- assisted searches and meticulous scholarship. The random entries I checked chosen from bibliographies and footnotes found in works on Machiavelli all appear and are correctly entered. Moreover, the detail and consistency in the annotation is truly extraordinary. Indeed, the two great elements of this bibliography which will ensure its use for years and which will require it only to be brought up to date on occasion rather than redone is the quality and thoroughness of the annotations and the superb system of indexes. Not only are books annotated chapter by chapter but also articles and even reviews are précised. Equally, editions and translations of Machiavelli's works, bibliographies, and even new primary sources such as manuscripts are all included. Assessments of the works are not made — this is not a critical bibliography — but the appending of review précis after major 92
AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MODERN CRITICISM AND
SCHOLARSHIP
Bibliographies and Indexes in Law and Political Science Number
13 New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. 810 pp.
This is a magisterial work of bibliography. Building on Achille
Norsa's Il principio della forza nel pensiero politico di Niccol
Machiavelli (Milan, 1936), Silvia Ruffo-Fiore has produced an
exhaustive listing with annotation and indexes of all material
relating to Machiavelli and his work published since 1935. It
supersedes Franco Fido's Machiavelli (Palermo, 1965) by recording
and annotating articles and reviews as well as books and by
bringing up to date the large industry of Machiavelli scholarship
developed during the last quarter century.
The listings themselves appear complete, the result of
computer-assisted searches and meticulous scholarship. The random
entries I checked chosen from bibliographies and footnotes found in
works on Machiavelli all appear and are correctly entered.
Moreover, the detail and consistency in the annotation is truly
extraordinary.
Indeed, the two great elements of this bibliography which will
ensure its use for years and which will require it only to be
brought up to date on occasion rather than redone is the quality
and thoroughness of the annotations and the superb system of
indexes. Not only are books annotated chapter by chapter but also
articles and even reviews are prcised. Equally, editions and
translations of Machiavelli's works, bibliographies, and even new
primary sources such as manuscripts are all included. Assessments
of the works are not made this is not a critical bibliography but
the appending of review prcis after major
92
books serves to guide the reader to the best scholarship on
Machiavelli. Theses are listed but not annotated.
There are four indexes arranged by author, title, subject/ name,
and which of Machiavelli's works is studied. There are
cross-references and the subject/name index is particularly useful
because it consists not merely of names but also of key words and
phrases, concepts, terms, and subjects. This index alone is worth
the price of the volume.
Therefore, this bibliography will prove invaluable to both
students and scholars who wish a key to unlock the vast published
work on Machiavelli produced since 1935 in every discipline. The
amount of labour represented in this volume is enormous and the
compiler, Ruffo-Fiore, and her contributors recorded at the end of
the book deserve our appreciation. There are a few typographical
errors, and the typeface, which is produced by word-processor, is
not the most attractive; but these are insignificant flaws in
comparison with the great contribution to Machiavelli studies made
by this bibliography.
KENNETH R. BARTLETT University of Toronto (Victoria College),
Toronto, Ontario
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