Synopses & Reviews
Newly remarried, with four kids under the age of eight, Suzanne Evans is fed up with tantrums, misbehaving, and general household chaos. Desperate to get the upper hand, she turns to Machiavelli’s iconic political treatise,
The Prince, and inspiration strikes.
Maybe, she thinks,
I can use his manipulative rules to bring order to my
boisterous family. Soon her experiment begins to play out in surprisingly effective ways. She starts off following Machiavelli’s maxim “It is dangerous to be overly generous” and soon realizes that for all its austerity, there is a kernel of truth in it. Her kids do behave when they are given clear limits. From there, she starts tackling other rules—“Tardiness robs us of opportunity” and “Study the actions of illustrious men”—and she is surprised at how quickly her brood falls in line once she starts adapting his advice to child rearing.
As she tries more and more of Machiavelli’s ideas on her family, Evans figures out this secret: You can get more out of your kids, with less fighting, if you figure out how to gently manipulate them to get what you want (and let them think it’s their own idea). But when events in her life start to spiral out of control and some of her earlier techniques are no longer working, she has to figure out her own answer to the ultimate Machiavellian question: Is it better to be feared than loved?
***
Do the Ends Justify the Meanness?
Machiavelli for Moms is the story of a rash, even crazy experiment: a year of using Machiavelli’s The Prince to “rule” one disobedient family. As mother-of-four Suzanne Evans soon found out, a little bit of coercion, manipulation, and cunning can go a long way when running a kingdom— and a household. Wouldn’t we all like to have kids who:
• Consistently obey our commands . . . without our having to nag?
• Stop talking back . . . and start getting along with each other?
• Eagerly complete their homework . . . without our having to ask?
• Sleep soundly through the night . . . while we regain our sanity, sex drive, and peace of mind?
In Machiavelli for Moms, Evans offers one woman’s unorthodox solution to the messy, chaotic, and confusing world of modern motherhood. It’s a tale of her own experiment in “power parenting” and a manifesto for other moms willing to act on Machiavelli’s famously manipulative advice.
Review
"Suzanne Evans humorously adapts the Renaissance political philosopher's sometimes ruthless precepts to running a family."
Review
"At her wits' end with her four uncontrollable children, a mom turns for advice to – of all places – the philosophical wisdom in the 1532 book 'The Prince' by Niccolò Machiavelli. Toward the end of the yearlong 'experiment,' she had to face 'the ultimate Machiavellian question: Is it better to be feared than loved?'"
Synopsis
An enlightening parenting manifesto showing how the strategies used in Machiavelli’s masterpiece, The Prince, can be employed to reign in a rambunctious family.Newly remarried, with four kids under the age of eight, Suzanne Evans was fed up with tantrums, misbehaving, and general household chaos. Desperate to get the upper hand, she turns to Machiavelli’s iconic political treatise and inspiration strikes—maybe she can use the philosopher's famously manipulative rules to bring order to her boisterous family?
Soon, Evan’s experiment is playing out in surprisingly effective ways. She starts off with the widely maligned maxim, “It is better to be feared than loved,” and realizes that for all its harshness, it contains a kernel of truth—her kids behave when they fear punishment. She starts channeling her inner disciplinarian, and is surprised at how quickly her brood falls in line. A few months later, when her kids’ beloved kitten dies an untimely death, she decides to follow Machiavelli’s edict that “the populace need not know all the details of government life”—she tells them their cat “went to live at the farm.” Though she eventually came clean, she learned that sometimes honesty isn’t the best policy with kids—and that’s OK.
As she tries more and more of Machiavelli’s ideas on her family, Evans figures out his secret: You can get more out of your kids with less fight if you figure out how to gently manipulate them to get what they want (and think it’s their own idea). In Machiavelli for Moms, she shows modern-day mothers and fathers how to use his advice to take back their own kingdoms.
About the Author
Suzanne Evans is a former divorce lawyer and business/sports reporter who holds a PhD in history from UC Berkeley. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Business Journal, and other national publications. She is also a freelance writer for The History Channel website and the creator of The History Chef, a popular food history blog (LincolnsLunch.blogspot.com). She lives in Newport Beach, California, with her husband and four young children.