Machiavelli

In four of Machiavelli?s best known works, Discourses on Livy, The Art of War, The History of Florence, and The Prince, we can see a clear influence from such Machiavellian contemporizes as Cesare Borgia, Francesco Vettori, the Medici Family, and general public opinion, which should be a cause for caution in relaying on Machiavelli?s writings as an accurate discussion of history or an ethical discussion of politics. The author discusses how the ideas that Machiavelli placed on paper over five hundred years ago still have meaning in the 21st Century.
From the paper:

While Machiavelli?s works lack the modern day standards of documentations, he was ahead of his time in historical philosophy and approach. He was the first historian to acknowledge that the need to explain events leading up a specific event to understand why that event occurred and to understand the results of that event. As for is external influences, they need to be taken into consideration, so we can accurately understand his writings, the period in which he was writing, and the periods in which he was writing about. He may contradict himself in his political belief, but considering the pressures that he was under he manages to give a pretty good analysis of events and history. Machiavelli?s works has managed to sustain its ideas from the 1500?s to the 21st Century and will continue to be a source of knowledge and debate for centuries to come.