Fifteen-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh, find themselves caught up in the deadly struggle between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over the possession of an ancient book that holds the secret formulas for alchemy and everlasting life.
Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy in 1469. At age forty-four, after a life in politics, he was facing ruin. Suspected of conspiring against the new government he was imprisoned and tortured. Eventually he was found innocent and released. He left town to live with his wife and family on a small farm but he soon became bored and depressed with a rural life. In the long, empty evenings he began to write down some considerations on how to win power and, above all, how to hold on to it and not to be a victim of circumstances. This volume is the result of the evenings he spent writing. It soon became a scandal because of its topic and has been a source for instruction through the centuries.
Fifteen-year-old twins Sophie and Josh Newman continue their magical training in Paris with Nicholas Flamel, Scatty, and the Comte de Sant Germaine, pursued by Doctor Dee and the immortal Niccolo Machiavelli.
Fifteen-year-old Josh has chosen to fight alongside Dr. John Dee and the mysterious Virginia Dare, while the immortal Machiavelli and Billy the Kid follow the Elders' plans to set loose the monsters of Alcatraz.
Includes Machiavelli's life and works, Machiavelli's times, Machiavelli's political doctrine, base themes of The Prince, general synopsis, chapter summaries and commentaries, review questions, selected bibliography.
