The City of Man is a trilogy based on a true story of the Italian Renaissance. The three books are structured on Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Renaissance Florence celebrated its Golden Age during the late 15th century under Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent. This was the age of artists, philosophers and poets like Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Pico della Mirandola, Poliziano, and Machiavelli.But a societal crisis was imminent by the century's last decade. The Italian peninsula was surrounded and threatened by imperialist powers, trade declined and poverty increased in the face of obscene wealth. Avaricious popes made a family business of the Church while floods, droughts, famines, and the plague all combined to create an atmosphere of overwhelming fear and anxiety.As chaos loomed, an obscure Dominican friar arose to restore order. Fra Girolamo Savonarola was a charismatic preacher and prophet who advocated religious and political reform. His mission was to transform his corrupt and decaying society into St. Augustine's mythical City of God. At the height of his short reign he orchestrated the infamous Bonfire of the Vanities, riding a wave of popular discontent to become the most influential religious, political, and cultural figure of the age. The Savonarolan theocratic republic left its indelible mark on the face of Florence, Italy, and Western history.The City of Man is the dramatic story of this preacher's fantastic rise and tragic fall, symbolizing a critical juncture in the conflict between Church and State in the Christian world. More dramatized history than historical fiction, the story integrates the art, religion, and politics of this glorious period.Young Niccolo Machiavelli provides the counterpoint to Savonarola as he develops his new political philosophy. Their momentous clash illuminates the transition from the Age of Faith to the Age of Reason, heralding the birth of the Modern Age.
Author Biography:
Michael Harrington is a political economist, public policy analyst, and author. He holds advanced degrees in political science, finance, and economics. He currently writes on economic policy and politics on the blog, Casino Capitalism and Crapshoot Politics. Harrington has harbored a life-long fascination with the art, culture, and politics of the Italian Renaissance, and has lived and studied in Italy, near Florence. His enduring interest in the social movements and artistic creativity of this period led him to study the life stories of Girolamo Savonarola, Niccolo Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. As a visiting scholar to the Bridwell Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, he conducted research with primary Renaissance materials for his dramatized history-fiction trilogy on Savonarola and Machiavelli, titled The City of Man: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso. He recently published two more works. Saving Mona Lisa is a novel about the world's most famous painting told through the eyes of Leonardo da Vinci's young assistant and eventual archivist, Francesco Melzi. The story is inspired by two real mysteries: Why did Leonardo insist the painting was never finished, refusing to surrender it to its rightful owner? And, who painted the copies, several of which depict Mona Lisa bare-breasted? The story delves into the conflicts inherent to artistic creativity and love by examining one of the most creative and complex personalities in history. Political Economy Simplified: A Citizen's Survival Guide is a condensed public policy primer that integrates analyses of economics, financial markets, and American politics into a broad overview of national policy for citizen-voters. This primer derives from and supplements the author's weblog, Casino Capitalism and Crapshoot Politics. His latest book, published November 1, 2013, is a political novel that modernizes the Renaissance conflict between religion and politics to the current era of religious fundamentalism and secular politics. This work, titled In God We Trust, develops a Machiavellian plot that dramatizes Washington politics during the period from the Millennial through 9/11 and the build-up to the Iraq War.
