On Tyranny

Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

By: Timothy Snyder

Narrated by: Timothy Snyder

#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.

Critic reviews

A Washington Post Notable Book

“We are rapidly ripening for fascism. This American writer leaves us with no illusions about ourselves.”—Svetlana Alexievich, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

“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

“Please read this book. So smart, so timely.”—George Saunders

“Easily the most compelling volume among the early resistance literature. . . . A slim book that fits alongside your pocket Constitution and feels only slightly less vital. . . . Clarifying and unnerving. . . . A memorable work that is grounded in history yet imbued with the fierce urgency of what now.”—Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post

“Snyder knows this subject cold. . . . It is impossible to read aphorisms like ‘post-truth is pre-fascism’ and not feel a small chill about the current state of the Republic. . . . Approach this short book the same you would a medical pamphlet warning about an infectious disease. Read it carefully and be on the lookout for symptoms.”—Daniel W. Drezner, The New York Times Book Review

“As Timothy Snyder explains in his fine and frightening On Tyranny, a minority party now has near-total power and is therefore understandably frightened of awakening the actual will of the people.”—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker

“Snyder is superbly positioned to bring historical thinking to bear on the current political scene. . . . These unpretentious words remind us that political resistance isn’t a matter of action-movie heroics, but starts from a willingness to break from social expectations.” —Jeet Heer, The New Republic

“The perfect clear-eyed antidote to Trump’s deliberate philistinism. . . . These 128 pages are a brief primer in every important thing we might have learned from the history of the last century, and all that we appear to have forgotten.”—Tim Adams, The Guardian

“On Tyranny demands to be read.”—The Forward

“The manifesto we need. . . . Snyder detects dangerous trends in American politics that may be less visible to most citizens who cannot believe that our country, with its system of checks and balances, could succumb to illiberalism or authoritarianism.”—Darryl Holter, Los Angeles Review of Books

“Bracing . . . On Tyranny is a call to action. . . . A brisk read packed with lucid prose.”—Vox

Must Read

A critical review of our current situation juxtaposed with history of tyranny. We ignore it at our peril.

Thoughtful actions for our current political troubles

An excellent book. All citizens everywhere should read it and think about how we all are responsible for the current and future situations of our countries. It points out important things we can learn from the rise of fascism and nazism in the past and how we can act now to try to prevent them from taking hold now and doing away with our democracy. Very worth reading, thinking about, discussing and acting on.

one of the most important works of our time

please read this. please encourage others to read this. it is one of the most important works of our time.

A must read for our times.

I have listened to this twice and will again. Loved his strategies for resisting tyranny.

WOW!

What a fantastic text and listen! It is both concise and comprehensive in my opinion. I definitely recommend this book for any one interested in the preservation of TRUE DEMOCRACY! I will listen to this fascinating essay again and again.

Very Good and Short

There is zero filler in this tight little book that shares historic facts in an objective manner. This should be taught in civics class. I guess we would have to bring back civics class first, but you get the idea.

Very relevant and a little chilling

Everyone should read this and commit these lessons to heart. We can work to prevent the tyranny creeping over the US and the western world, but only if we pay attention to and learn from historical examples like those given in this book!

Good History Lessons

Good historical facts from an expert. Much to learn, understand and remember. I recommend it!

A MUST LISTEN.

Thank you to the author for writing and narrating. Thank you for the poignant lessons.

Cliff's Notes

It reads like a 'Cliff's Notes' of WTF has happened to get us to now.