In The Prince, Machiavelli applies the analytic tools of science to politics to determine the best way to rule effectively.

More describes the ideal commonwealth in his Utopia, where all work is for the common good: highlighting the abuses of power at the time and slyly suggesting necessary reforms. Also included in this volume is his biography, The Life of Thomas More, written by his son-in-law, which has become the primary source for all of his subsequent biographies.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Thesis against the sale of indulgences to the church door of Wittenberg, inadvertently beginning the Protestant Reformation. In his Address to the German Nobility Luther advocates tectonic shifts in the church, including a devolution of power from Rome to the German states, and a shift in power from priests to layman. Luther's Concerning Christian Liberty is a treatise on his religious beliefs and a cogent critique of the Catholic church.