On Tyranny vs Prince: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Political ethics, Political science
On Tyranny
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In previous books, Holocaust historian Timothy Snyder dissected the events and values that enabled the rise of Hitler and Stalin and the execution of their catastrophic policies. With Twenty Lessons, Snyder draws from…
Prince
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"The Prince" is the most controversial book about winning power - and holding on to it - ever written. Machiavelli's tough-minded, pragmatic argument that sometimes it is necessary to abandon ethics to succeed made his…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate On Tyranny highest: On Tyranny 4.3 · Prince 3.8.
- Prince has the widest readership — 399030 ratings behind its score.
- Prince runs the darker storyline; On Tyranny stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| On Tyranny | Prince | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.3 (117928) | 3.8 (399030) |
| Hardcover | 4.3 (345) | 2.8 (2) |
| Google Books | 2.5 (2) | 3.5 (10) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (984) | 4.0 (195) |
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Reception
| On Tyranny | Prince | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 117928 | 399030 |
| Editions | 21 | 183 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | 164758 | 402008 |
| Reading it now | 12910 | 39038 |
| Written reviews | 16421 | 17483 |
| Wikipedia attention | 2599 | 9826 |
| Pages | 128 | 131 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: On Tyranny or Prince?
On Tyranny has the higher combined reader rating across sources (On Tyranny 4.3/5, Prince 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: On Tyranny or Prince?
On Tyranny is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: On Tyranny (128 pages, ≈ 2 h 22 m); Prince (131 pages, ≈ 2 h 26 m).
Which is harder to read: On Tyranny or Prince?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — On Tyranny: Moderate; Prince: Challenging.