This text demonstrates how matters of style ‎- diction‎,‎ manners‎,‎ sensibility‎,‎ decor and charisma ‎- influence politics‎.‎ In critical studies of classic texts‎,‎ the author identifies four dominant political styles‎.‎ The realist style‎,‎ as found in Machiavelli‎'‎s "The Prince"‎,‎ creates a world of sheer power‎,‎ constant calculation and emotional control‎;‎ this style is the common sense of modern political science‎.‎ The courtly style‎,‎ depicted in Kapuscinski‎'‎s "The Emperor"‎,‎ is characterized by high decorousness‎,‎ hierarchies and fixation on the body of the sovereign‎;‎ this style infuses mass media coverage of the American presidency‎.‎ The republican style‎,‎ reflected in Cicero‎'‎s letters to Atticus‎,‎ promotes the art of oratory‎,‎ consensus and civility‎;‎ it informs our ideal of democratic conversation‎.‎ The bureaucratic style‎,‎ as captured in Kafka‎'‎s "The Castle"‎,‎ emphasizes institutional procedures‎,‎ official character and the priority of writing‎;‎ this style structures everday life‎.‎ Hariman looks at effective political artistry in figures from antiquity to modern politicians such as Vaclav Havel‎,‎ Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton‎.‎ He discusses the crises to which each style is susceptible‎,‎ as well as the social and moral consequences of each style‎'‎s success‎.‎