"It is precisely with the emergence of history as we know it today that Professor Gilbert's important book is concerned. Instead of treating these two great figures in isolation, Professor Gilbert puts them into the context of their times, into the stream of political thinking and historical writing of which they were a part.His book is the fruit of years of writing of which they were a part.His book is the fruit of years of original research among Florentine archives and of careful thought about the problems of Renaissance politics and historiography." --F.A. Yates, New York Times Review of Books.