{"title":"Books by Patrick Boucheron","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781509512904","title":"The Power of Images – Siena, 1338","description":"Where can the danger be lurking? Two soldiers are huddled together, one gazing up at the sky, the other darting a sideward glance. They derive a tacit reassurance from their weapons, but they are both in their different ways alone and scared. They were painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, and they seem symptomatic of a state of emergency: the year was 1338, and the spectre of the signoria, of rule by one man, was abroad in the city, undermining the very idea of the common good. In this book, distinguished historian Patrick Boucheron uncovers the rich social and political dimensions of the iconic ‘Fresco of Good Government’. He guides the reader through Lorenzetti’s divided city, where peaceful prosperity and leisure sit alongside the ever-present threats of violence, war and despotism. Lorenzetti’s painting reminds us crucially that good government is not founded on the wisdom of principled or virtuous rulers. Rather, good government lies in the visible and tangible effects it has on the lives of its citizens. By subjecting it to scrutiny, we may, at least for a while, be able to hold at bay the dark seductions of tyranny. From fourteenth-century Siena to the present, The Power of Images shows the latent dangers to democracy when our perceptions of the common good are distorted and undermined. It will appeal to students and scholars in art history, politics and the humanities, as well as to anyone interested in the nature of power.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56302557921653,"sku":"9781509512904","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781509512904_7345291f-a382-44b0-bb92-912634d26681.jpg?v=1786022291"},{"product_id":"9781635420067","title":"Trace and Aura","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom one of the foremost medievalists of our time, a groundbreaking work on history and memory that goes well beyond the life of this influential saint. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Elected bishop of Milan by popular acclaim in 374, Ambrose went on to become one of the four original Doctors of the Church. There is much more to this book, however, than the captivating story of the bishop who baptized Saint Augustine in the fourth century. \u003ci\u003eTrace and Aura\u003c\/i\u003e investigates how a crucial figure from the past can return in different guises over and over again, in a city that he inspired and shaped through his beliefs and political convictions. His recurring lives actually span more than ten centuries, from the fourth to the sixteenth. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the process of following Ambrose’s various reincarnations, Patrick Boucheron draws compelling connections between religion, government, tyranny, the Italian commune, Milan’s yearning for autonomy, and many other aspects of this fascinating relationship between a city and its spiritual mentor who strangely seems to resist being manipulated by the needs and ambitions of those in power.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56302617035125,"sku":"9781635420067","price":35.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781635420067_521562d0-c5dc-4a26-9d92-a02dd169d944.jpg?v=1786023125"},{"product_id":"9781782276678","title":"Machiavelli","description":"We turn to Machiavelli at every tumultuous period in history - he is the one who knows how to philosophize in dark times. In fact, since his death in 1527, we have never stopped reading him, always to pull ourselves out of a torpor. But what do we really know about this man? Is there more to his work than that term for political evil, Machiavellianism?It was Machiavelli's luck to be disappointed by every statesman he encountered - that was why he had to create his paper Prince. Today, the question that remains is not why he wrote, but for whom - for princes or for those who want to resist them? What is the art of governing? Is it to take power, or to keep it? In this timely book, Patrick Boucheron undoes many of our assumptions about Machiavelli, showing how his rich, complex thought is key to understanding his time, and may be crucial to interrogating our own.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304310976885,"sku":"9781782276678","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781782276678_b1bb09fb-0a54-411d-be93-a950de6093e5.jpg?v=1786025406"},{"product_id":"9781635423754","title":"Political Fictions","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn acclaimed historian illuminates today's political situation by examining the relationship between governing and storytelling, from the Middle Ages to the “post-truth” present, in these engaging essays.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the wake of Donald Trump’s election, renowned medievalist Patrick Boucheron delivered a powerful, probing series of lectures on “political fictions” in the context of rising authoritarianism and populism. Adapted here for the first time in English, they offer key insights into how we arrived at our current global moment and what history can teach us about moving forward.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLong before Trump parlayed his reality TV character into a presidential victory with the MAGA movement, aspiring rulers have used the art of storytelling and the power of fable to control others. Discussing seminal works from Machiavelli’s \u003ci\u003eThe Prince\u003c\/i\u003e and Hobbes’s \u003ci\u003eLeviathan\u003c\/i\u003e to Orwell’s \u003ci\u003e1984\u003c\/i\u003e and the writings of Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt, Boucheron explores the profound interconnectedness of political theory and fiction, and the tension between politics and the political.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56368096149877,"sku":"9781635423754","price":21.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781635423754_9000d590-b975-48cd-a20d-5b178f423803.jpg?v=1786023164"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-patrick-boucheron.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}