Considered one of the first works of modern philosophy, Machiavelli's The Prince is an intense study on the nature of power and the course it should take when ruling a country and expresses the author's strong and unyielding ideals and beliefs on using force rather than law to achieve your aims.
Responsible for the widely-used phrase 'Machiavellian', with all of its negative connotations, his extreme treatise remains a classic text to this day.