Vickie Sullivan's book is an important and useful contribution to this literature. It combines meticulous scholarship with provocative and insightful analysis. While issuing directly from this literature, and thus in a sense the intellectual heir of these debates, it attempts to overcome their dualistic character by presenting an alternative and original interpretation. In the process Sullivan provides a novel and intriguing perspective to both the Straussian and civic republican interpretations of Machiavelli.
~American Political Science Review
She advances the novel proposition that Machiavelli is the enemy of all religion. This is an important new study, cogently argued and beautifully written.
~The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Her incisive and clever analysis, comparable to Victoria Kahn's Machiavellian Rhetoric, deserves a place on a shelf that include Sebastian DeGrazia, Felix Gilbert, Harvey Mansfield, Jr., J.G.A. Pocock, Leo Strauss, and Quentin Skinner. Although clearly intended for a discerning audience of graduate students and faculty, Sullivan's clear prose and powerful insight will captivate upper-division undergraduates and general readers of political philosophy.
~Choice
[Sulllivan's] rhetorical stance is one of revaluation, and her rhetorical methodology is one of close, painstaking textual analysis.
~The Sixteenth Century Journal
Machiavelli's three Romes, according to Vickie B. Sullivan's nicely argued book, are Christian Rome, ancient Rome and his own—a critique and appropriation of the first two.
~Times Literary Supplement
Throughout the book, Professor Sullivan's writing style is inviting and accessible. Her treatment of the subject evinces a tremendous knowledge of not only Machiavelli's works, but also of writers who have analyzed and critiqued his ideas. Moreover, her book is well-organized, ensuring that the reader can readily follow her argument. Those with an interest in Machiavelli are likely to enjoy Machiavelli's Three Romes.
~The NYMAS Review
