De l'esprit des lois vs Du contrat social: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Ciencias políticas, The State, Political science, Philosophy

De l'esprit des lois Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu · 1748 ★★★★☆ 4.0 445 pages · ≈ 8 h 14 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

Du contrat social Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1762 ★★★★☆ 3.9 184 pages · ≈ 3 h 24 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 4.0 vs 3.9 — either is a safe pick by score.
Du contrat social is the quicker read — about 3 hours vs 8 for De l'esprit des lois.

The verdict

Side by side