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On Tyranny
- Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
- Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
- Length: 1 hr and 45 mins
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On Tyranny
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Publisher's Summary
History does not repeat, but it does instruct.
In the 20th century, European democracies collapsed into fascism, Nazism and communism. These were movements in which a leader or a party claimed to give voice to the people, promised to protect them from global existential threats, and rejected reason in favour of myth. European history shows us that societies can break, democracies can fall, ethics can collapse, and ordinary people can find themselves in unimaginable circumstances. History can familiarise, and it can warn. Today we are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to totalitarianism in the 20th century. But when the political order seems imperilled, our advantage is that we can learn from their experience to resist the advance of tyranny. Now is a good time to do so.
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What listeners say about On Tyranny
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Philip I. Kyson
- 04-06-17
outstanding
A timely reminder of how to avoid the tyranny that is now at the front door of most peoples of the world. Knocking on all its guises.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- CJ V. Schalkwyk
- 09-03-21
Update
I would like to know if there will be an update which warns the populous of Biden and what the Democrats are doing.
As a South African, the reference to Trump was more funny than important, though I think that most people should learn to think for them selves and realise that all forms of media will be biased for / against government and learn to find as much of the story behind the stories as possible.
I noticed that the problems of BLM was not addressed directly, but if one follows the methods proposed and follow the money, you'll find it to be Dems using chaos for political gain.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-04-17
Great and currently important
Loved it enough that I listened through twice in a few days! I'm English and feel quite strongly that young people in Europe and America need to know more history to enable us to maintain our progressive cultures, otherwise dictators may usurp power in a way we currently feel impossible having mentally consigned fascism to the past.
Well worth a listen, and has a recommended reading list in one chapter, so might be worth doing further research.
Well delivered by the author with no production errors!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- anon
- 28-03-17
Essential reading for our current age
An excellent, compact analysis of the lurch towards fascism in the West and what ordinary people should be doing to resist this tide. The lessons are familiar to anyone who has read any of the classic works on totalitarianism but Snyder introduces modern examples such as the Russian war against Ukraine and its attempts to destabilise Western Europe through disinformation and promoting right wing Islamophobes. Best lesson? Get off the Internet! Read a book and actually spend time talking to people outside of your bubble.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- John Pope
- 29-07-20
Concise, illuminating and epic.
Timothy Snyder’s grasp of political history, and his ability to apply its lessons to contemporary events, is nothing short of ingenious.
If you genuinely want to understand where we are today and where tomorrow might take us, then you MUST also understand where we have come from first to adequately appreciate the context of our current situation.
This short book is required reading for anyone who wants to maintain western democratic values in the face of the growing trend towards authoritarian ‘sadopopulism’ that is currently espoused by Putin’s oligarchy/kleptocracy, Steve Bannon’s nationalist populism or Donald Trump’s cult of personality - which are all essentially slightly unique variations of the same dark and twisted ideology.
Timothy Snyder has given 21st century liberal democracy the biggest wake-up call it could possibly get; now it’s time for all of us who care about our future to answer his clarion call. Thanks to Snyder, I know I will.
And one day hopefully have a chance to buy him a beer - along with his next book.
Onwards to ‘The Road of Unfreedom’.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mabbers
- 05-09-19
A quick read to change how you see things
Short, snappy and made me realise that things are worse than I had previously thought. However, it does give practical advice so it is also optimistic. Everyone should read/listen to On Tyranny.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Gita G.
- 21-03-19
Important reading
Very thought provoking listen. Well read. Great anti-complacency brain food. Wake up and think. Highly recommend.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Jeremy from Preston UK
- 28-04-18
Why was I so slow to find this excellent manifesto and warning
Having listened to the audio version narrated by the author, I feel powerfully better informed and motivated to join a modern day version of The International Brigade “No passaran!”
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sarah
- 23-03-23
Important, concise and well informed
Something everyone should read and consider. An important summary of key learnings from history. This book is to the point, concise, well informed and feels very important for people to read in the current political landscape. It has practical solutions that leave the feeling empowered to act rather than overwhelmed. I found the information about patriotism vs nationalsim as well as inevitable and eternal really interesting.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 28-12-22
very important piece
this book contains valuable information for surviving the current time. please distribute this to your friends
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Swathi Poddar
- 27-12-22
Nice content and nicely narrated
It was recommended to me by a friend and I am glad I listened to it. A must recommendation.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer
- 25-12-22
Complex political ideology Made Simple.
Necessary reading for anyone living in a democracy. Compulsory reading for anyone who isn't sure. Terrifying reading for autocrats. All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing. Listen, learn, prepare, act to defend truth,values and democracy. Never give up. And slava Ukrainia!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Alan G
- 25-02-22
Prescient
As a large minority in the US continue to lurch to the hard Right and Putin has opted to trash international law, 5 years on from its writing this book is a compelling read and has proven too prophetic for comfort. Diligently researched, intelligently crafted and concisely written, it remains a wake up call for all
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
- Sam
- 23-08-17
The most important book I've ever read.
I beg you to read this. A hugely important book that is short, easily digestible, with every sentence hitting a home run.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Peter
- 17-06-17
A must listen for under 30's
Well done Timothy Snyder (again) - this book is arguably the most important bit of literature in our current times. Nobody has so eloquently summarised the perils of the current world in a way that is simple and direct. The book provides practical and critical advice - to promote democracy and to be attuned to creeping perils of fascism and tyranny. To all the disenfranchised young people of the world - please listen to this book. I am going to buy hard copies to give away.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 14-01-23
On Tyranny
Prophetic, alarming but hopeful
Beautifully read by the author
So much of the book has been shown to be true
Good advice for the future
I’ll be looking for his more recent works
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 12-01-23
Great lessons in tyranny.
Gave great background to many historical events. Need to listen again and again. He shows how important it is for us to respect institutions and never allow tyranny to get a hold.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Randall
- 17-05-22
Important Work
Concise and to the point, highlighting patterns of all tyrannies and authoritarian leaders. Some of the reviews of the reviewers who have given this a low score appear to feel uncomfortable with how it makes them feel about their political views. I cannot agree with their reviews, this is an important work and if you admire authoritarian style leaders, it will make you feel uncomfortable.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 14-03-21
The Handbook on How to Hate Trump
it is extremely disappointing that an academic like Snyder can be so desperate to gain cudos from one side of politics that he undercuts what could have been a very important message with relentless partisan attacks and even fails to follow his own "lessons". Where he could have shown concern for the working class American Trump Voter and displayed how Trump takes advantage of them his tone instead minimises their concern and pays no appreciation to their lives, to instead pitch to an audience that the author apparently assumes is antithetical to those who have a different life and viewpoint to them. His evident bias is made all the more evident when he claims that certain politicians are bad for quoting each other out of context before preceding throughout his own text to place the words of other politicians he disproves of next to quotes from Hitler, clearly out of their original situational context, thereby undercutting the salience of his message by partaking in the very thing he warns us not to do. How can one read the message of Snyder as being important or well founded when he cannot resist taking part in the fallacies he tries to expose? this is a book clearly launched to service one exclusive audience: if you are a member of the far left who wants their own opinions validated then this book is for you; if, however, you want a balanced overview of the US political landscape against the history of the 20th century steer clear and save yourself the disappointment of reading this abysmal production.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Nathan
- 25-01-18
Insultingly Biased.
Snyder uses history to make a point about some things which seemed more likely representative of Hillary Clinton than of Trump himself. He uses the basic that Trump was all evil and hence is able to control the line of thinking that the claims he wants us to use. It provokes thought, however, it's biased.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- abcd
- 27-07-17
piercing, insightful and concise
this essay-like commentary was incisive and clear, and provides great historical context to current events.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- E. Stamatakis
- 22-07-17
Excellent historical overview in today's context
Each and every lesson in this book is a prophecy where the world is heading. Very clear ideas with very accurate historical linkage
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