First published in 1647, &quot;The Art of Worldly Wisdom&quot; is a book of 300 maxims and commentary written by a 17th century Jesuit priest named Balthasar Gracian. Considered by many to be Machiavelli&rsquo;s better in strategy and insight, Gracian&rsquo;s maxims give advice on how to flourish and thrive in a cutthroat world filled with cunning, duplicity, and power struggles, all while still maintaining your dignity, honour, and self-respect.<br /><br />Three hundred years ago, Gracian, one of Spain&rsquo;s greatest philosophers combined shrewd observation and crafty, bruised idealism to produce this book that would help guide leaders who wanted to rise to positions of power and yet behave ethically.<br /><br />Monk, scholar, researcher, and thinker, Baltasar Gracian combined his keen wit with worldly insight, irony, and jaded humour to produce a timeless handbook of practical and elegantly crafted maxims that will help all leaders and influencers think, judge, act, live, and achieve more.<br /><br />Widely considered to have had a craftier and nuanced understanding of human nature than Machiavelli himself, Gracian&rsquo;s works are too delicious to ignore. Reading a few maxims a day and reflecting on them will help readers bridge time and space to think like a person with several years more maturity, experience, and wisdom than themselves &ndash; an endless asset if your work requires you to interact with people, gauge their intentions, and work with them to achieve success.