On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

Timothy Snyder

Feb 2017 · Sold by Crown

About this ebook

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “bracing” (Vox) guide for surviving and resisting America’s turn towards authoritarianism, from “a rising public intellectual unafraid to make bold connections between past and present” (The New York Times)

“Timothy Snyder reasons with unparalleled clarity, throwing the past and future into sharp relief. He has written the rare kind of book that can be read in one sitting but will keep you coming back to help regain your bearings.”—Masha Gessen

The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.

On Tyranny is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.

Ratings and reviews

This reads like a informative pamphlet with surface level insights. If you're looking for in-depth analysis, look elsewhere. If you want a quick read that presents information in bite-sized chunks that don't go too in depth in supporting the twenty lessons, it's a decent read. The book does get more interesting with its references about halfway through. They become more obscure and specific regarding the current climate.

Using some more obscure examples of corruption in history would make this a more important book. There are far better uses of Hitler and Trump in other writings.

Though I purchased a hard copy, this book really provided a good perspective on the need to critically think about Democracy and the role Tyranny has played through history. Quick read, good historical insights and comparisons. That is why it was a New York Times best seller.

About the author

Timothy Snyder is the Richard C. Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. His books, which have been published in over forty languages, include Bloodlands, Black Earth, On Tyranny, Road to Unfreedom, Our Malady, and On Freedom. His work has inspired poster campaigns and exhibitions, sculptures, a punk rock song, a rap song, a play, and an opera, and he has appeared in over fifty films and documentaries. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.