On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Feb 2017 · Sold by Crown
4.5star
182 reviews
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128
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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.
“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.
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Ratings and reviews
4.5
182 reviews
Cassandra Shennum
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September 18, 2025
On Tyranny is a fantastic book outlying the warning signs that can occur when a country's government starts becoming an autocracy. Snyder does a fantastic job outlining the details that every citizen should know when it comes to critiquing their country's government and holding the leaders accountable. If you are considering running for office or if you are simply interested in preserving civic freedom, On Tyranny is an excellent book to add to your collection.
Bonnie Hardin
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March 14, 2025
Read this book. It is clear in showing exactly where we are today. If the historic parallels don't encourage us to get off the sofa and away from the screen we will be America the beautiful no longer. PS/study history of the 1900s.
Chris Laughery
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November 30, 2024
Should be required reading for every living person. Difficult to believe it could all happen, but history and modern day politics indicate that it will. Understanding how we got here will be part of saving the future.
About the author
Timothy Snyder holds the Temerty Chair in Modern European History at the Munk School, University of Toronto, and is 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, The 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.
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