Aristotle, the author of this classic work on politics, was a Macedonian, living under a monarchy. During his lifetime, the monarch of his native land changed three times. The second time it was a man who was a private student of his, Alexander the Great, who effectively furthered a plan for conquest set forth by his father.

The book has only survived in its current form through numerous translations. It is only a part of the author's work. Within the context of his era, the philosopher Aristotle developed into a prominent educator, writer and lecturer. His career was unquestionably advanced by friends of great local political might and wealth. Despite Aristotle being a foreigner and not a citizen of it, the city-state of Athens was the host of Aristotle's educational and research institute, The Lyceum. Athens was a city of ancient Greece, and the Lyceum became one of the most famous schools of the Greek world.

The book is a work of political science. It is described as being more like a work of monographs rather than one book. In it Aristotle reviews a variety of forms of political systems that were active in the world as he knew it in his era and location. Due to the Greek political scene, Aristotle has in common with contemporary American readers a direct experience with a form of democracy.

The book covers numerous aspects of politics, including what types of changes occur at different levels of societal organization. He opens with the observation that it is vital readers recognize there are very significant changes that go along with the levels of organization of a society. Since Aristotle is so thorough, by the end of the book a reader should have a very healthy grasp of multiple forms of functional governments, albeit from a particular perspective.

There is no way of discerning whether Aristotle harbored any hopes that his works would become internationally famous centuries after his death. He was reasonably, but regionally, well known during the end of his life. The work continues to be useful today as an introductory work of political science and a classical reading in Mediteranean culture and the world of 'antiquity'.