Sometimes it just makes more sense to get it directly from the horse’s mouth. So instead of listening to us talk about stuff that happened five centuries ago, you can read how a man living five centuries ago describes his contemporary events. Florentine Francesco Guicciardini wrote his contemporary history of Italy in 1537 and was not shy about imbuing it with his own personal political opinions. Hell, I would as well! It is worth mentioning that this particular translation by Sidney Alexander is nothing less than remarkable for its ability to make 16th-century writing comprehendible to all.