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On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century Paperback – February 28, 2017
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“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.
- Print length128 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateFebruary 28, 2017
- Dimensions4.38 x 0.42 x 6.23 inches
- ISBN-100804190119
- ISBN-13978-0804190114
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A guide for surviving and resisting America's turn towards authoritarianism, from a rising public intellectual.
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At the very beginning, anticipatory obedience means adapting instinctively, without reflecting, to a new situation.5,417 Kindle readers highlighted this
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| ON TYRANNY GRAPHIC EDITION : Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century | OUR MALADY: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary | THE ROAD TO UNFREEDOM: Russia, Europe, America | BLACK EARTH: The Holocaust as History and Warning | |
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| Price | $14.49$14.49 | $10.99$10.99 | $11.99$11.99 | $10.97$10.97 |
| A graphic edition of the bestselling book, featuring the visual storytelling talents of renowned illustrator Nora Krug. | An impassioned condemnation of America's pandemic response and an urgent call to rethink health and freedom. | A stunning new chronicle of the rise of authoritarianism from Russia to Europe and America. | A brilliant, haunting, and profoundly original portrait of the defining tragedy of our time. |
Editorial Reviews
Review
“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
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Do not obey in advance.
Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
Anticipatory obedience is a political tragedy. Perhaps rulers did not initially know that citizens were willing to compromise this value or that principle. Perhaps a new regime did not at first have the direct means of influencing citizens one way or another. After the German elections of 1932, which brought Nazis into government, or the Czechoslovak elections of 1946, where communists were victorious, the next crucial step was anticipatory obedience. Because enough people in both cases voluntarily extended their services to the new leaders, Nazis and communists alike realized that they could move quickly toward a full regime change. The first heedless acts of conformity could not then be reversed.
In early 1938, Adolf Hitler, by then securely in power in Germany, was threatening to annex neighboring Austria. After the Austrian chancellor conceded, it was the Austrians’ anticipatory obedience that decided the fate of Austrian Jews. Local Austrian Nazis captured Jews and forced them to scrub the streets to remove symbols of independent Austria. Crucially, people who were not Nazis looked on with interest and amusement. Nazis who had kept lists of Jewish property stole what they could. Crucially, others who were not Nazis joined in the theft. As the political theorist Hannah Arendt remembered, “when German troops invaded the country and Gentile neighbors started riots at Jewish homes, Austrian Jews began to commit suicide.”
The anticipatory obedience of Austrians in March 1938 taught the high Nazi leadership what was possible. It was in Vienna that August that Adolf Eichmann established the Central Office for Jewish Emigration. In November 1938, following the Austrian example of March, German Nazis organized the national pogrom known as Kristallnacht.
In 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the SS took the initiative to devise the methods of mass killing without orders to do so. They guessed what their superiors wanted and demonstrated what was possible. It was far more than Hitler had thought.
At the very beginning, anticipatory obedience means adapting instinctively, without reflecting, to a new situation. Do only Germans do such things? The Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram, contemplating Nazi atrocities, wanted to show that there was a particular authoritarian personality that explained why such Germans behaved as they had. He devised an experiment to test the proposition, but failed to get permission to carry it out in Germany. So he undertook it instead in a Yale University building in 1961—at around the same time that Adolf Eichmann was being tried in Jerusalem for his part in the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews.
Milgram told his subjects (some Yale students, some New Haven residents) that they would be applying an electrical shock to other participants in an experiment about learning. In fact, the people attached to the wires on the other side of a window were in on the scheme with Milgram, and only pretended to be shocked. As the subjects (thought they) shocked the (people they thought were) participants in a learning experiment, they saw a horrible sight. People whom they did not know, and against whom they had no grievance, seemed to be suffering greatly—pounding the glass and complaining of heart pain. Even so, most subjects followed Milgram’s instructions and continued to apply (what they thought were) ever greater shocks until the victims appeared to die. Even those who did not proceed all the way to the (apparent) killing of their fellow human beings left without inquiring about the health of the other participants.
Milgram grasped that people are remarkably receptive to new rules in a new setting. They are surprisingly willing to harm and kill others in the service of some new purpose if they are so instructed by a new authority. “I found so much obedience,” Milgram remembered, “that I hardly saw the need for taking the experiment to Germany.”
Product details
- Publisher : Crown; First Edition (February 28, 2017)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 128 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0804190119
- ISBN-13 : 978-0804190114
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 4.38 x 0.42 x 6.23 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Democracy (Books)
- #15 in Civics & Citizenship (Books)
- #48 in World History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Timothy Snyder is one of the world’s leading historians, and a prominent public intellectual in the United States and Europe. An expert on eastern Europe and on the Second World War, he has written acclaimed and prize-winning books about twentieth-century European history, as well as political manifestos and analyses about the rise of tyranny in the contemporary world. His work has been translated into more than forty languages, and has inspired protest, art, and music. He serves as the Levin Professor of History and Public Affairs at Yale University and is the faculty advisor of the Fortunoff Archive for Holocaust Video Testimonies. He is also a permanent fellow of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.
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Customers find the methodology well presented and stimulating. They also find the content enlightening, practical, and devastating. Readers describe the writing quality as easy, digestible, and digestible. They describe the book as incisive, inexpensive, and a gem. Customers also mention the atmosphere as terrifying, angering, and disturbing. They find it timely and vital.
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Customers find the book's content enlightening, well-researched, and intriguing. They also say the references from history are good, relevant, helpful, and encouraging. Readers also mention the book sheds a strong light on all 'isms' and is a source of encouragement for courageous action.
"...No real background knowledge is necessary. Anyone could pick it up and go...." Read more
"...There are many more lessons in this short, easily readable book -- all worth considering, and acting upon, as patriotic citizens during a time when..." Read more
"...It reveals moments, each one of them different, none entirely unique...." Read more
"A quick read. Packed with information relevant to what is happening today." Read more
Customers find the book well worth it, brilliant, and instructive. They also say it's engaging and valuable for Americans to heed. Readers also mention it'll be read in one sitting.
"...Short, sweet, and to the point, On Tyranny is such for good reasons...." Read more
"...are many more lessons in this short, easily readable book -- all worth considering, and acting upon, as patriotic citizens during a time when our..." Read more
"...The book adds commentary to his list, and it's worth the small cost...." Read more
"...It is written for everyone over the age of puberty. Short, sweet, succinct, and crystal clear. It is a warning. It is a call to action...." Read more
Customers find the writing quality of the book easy to read, clear, and simple. They also say it's written with a sense of urgency.
"...Second, accessibility. This is short enough to read during a long wait for a medical appointment, and any high school student should be able to..." Read more
"...There are many more lessons in this short, easily readable book -- all worth considering, and acting upon, as patriotic citizens during a time when..." Read more
"This is a short, quick book to read, perhaps 30-45 minutes of your time. And at only $2.99 (on Kindle) you can't afford not to buy it...." Read more
"...It is written for everyone over the age of puberty. Short, sweet, succinct, and crystal clear. It is a warning. It is a call to action...." Read more
Customers find the book highly relevant, saying it's a perfect historical warning against the rise of tyranny. They also say it'll be vital reading in the age of terrorism.
"...There is still much to be learned. Still timely & highly relevant." Read more
"...recommend "On Tyranny...," a brief, clear, and a concise work based on history and impregnated with multiple solutions for the differences..." Read more
"Got this several years ago. It is well written, concise and timely." Read more
"...insights for the times we live in -- provided in short chapters with historical evidence." Read more
Customers find the book to be chilling in its exactness and simplicity. They also say it's alarming, sobering, and enlightening. Readers also mention that the results are disturbing.
"...Prof. Snyder’s epilogue offers brilliant insight into the fallacies that predominate in our contemporary culture that brought us to this crisis...." Read more
"...I believe in Hitler.”The book is full of warnings of what is to come if we are not diligent and suggestions of what we can do to prevent..." Read more
"...The results are disturbing. Freedom only remains so long as people can see when it is danger and when action in its support is taken...." Read more
"...is happening in the country right now, this book will be a simultaneously sobering and enlightening lesson in both the past as well as what we can..." Read more
Customers find the background to the lessons well presented, vivid, and concise. They also describe the book as realistic, thoughtful, and a page-turner.
"The booklet is small and easy to read - it is well-done and well-researched. Best easy to read book about the current political situation I have read" Read more
"...The book does an elegant job of laying out the symptoms of an emerging fascist state, while pointing to real actions that can be undertaken as..." Read more
"...The political and historical background to the lessons is well presented and I believe the advice is all sound...." Read more
"...It was such a page turner that I couldn't put it down...." Read more
Customers find the writing style very readable, to the point, compelling, and harrowing. They also say the author does an excellent job illustrating the similarities and connections between the 20th century. Readers also mention that the structure is set up intelligently, with each particular lesson being a chapter. They say the book moves along quickly, with chapters that almost seem like bullets. Customers say the reviews are sparking interesting debate. They find the comparisons not cherry-picked.
"...Short, sweet, and to the point, On Tyranny is such for good reasons...." Read more
"...Read here the concise, direct, and clear warnings of those who have witnessed the fall of democracies - ignore their lessons at your peril...." Read more
"...From what I remember, the comparisons weren't cherry-picked either, and that's good...." Read more
"Great book, seems to have reoccurring themes in real life that always bring me back to re-reading it...." Read more
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For one, my twitter-fried brain has difficulty sitting still long enough to read long books the way I once did. I believe Snyder understands that has happened to many of my generation— those who use social media 24/7 & otherwise can’t be still.
Second, accessibility. This is short enough to read during a long wait for a medical appointment, and any high school student should be able to understand it. No real background knowledge is necessary. Anyone could pick it up and go. And **busy, hardworking, everyday Americans need the opportunity to clearly see WHAT HAPPENED IN THE 20th CENTURY TO ALLOW TYRANNY so they can IDENTIFY RED FLAGS IN THE PRESENT DAY**—all without needing to keep up with the details of daily news or the ginned-up partisan bs of the cable entertainment news nighttime soap operas.
Last, in the age of 24-hr news cycles and short attention spans, Snyder has managed to succinctly write 20 vital historical lessons in such a way that they are easy to remember. He does not appear concerned for his own ego, about appearing to be some superior intellectual. I don’t believe he wrote this $9.99 book (I got it for $7) for clout or money. He wrote it for us, for Americans. If I had the money, I’d buy copies to put in waiting rooms and hotel dressers alongside the Gideon Bible.
So, yes. Timely and important… when it was published in 2017. You’ll read the occasional passage and think “well, that ship has sailed”—but this (larger) pocket-sized book is not about defeatism. There is still much to be learned. Still timely & highly relevant.
In Chapter Six we learn "Armed groups first degrade a political order, and then transform it." That certainly happened in Germany when Nazi Brown Shirts cleared opponents from the halls of Hitler's political rallies. On January 6, we saw violent groups claiming to be patriots storm the Capitol.
In Chapter Ten, the author describes the four modes truth dies in a democracy: 1) presenting lies as if they were facts, 2) the use of "endless repetition" where anyone pointing to truth became the enemy. 3) the use of "magical thinking" in which truth is turned upside down e.g. the only way we can lose an election is if it's stolen, and 4) "misplaced faith" when followers believe, as did many Nazis believed, "understanding is useless, you have to have faith. I believe in the Fuhrer." Today, Donald Trump has convinced his followers that “I alone can fix it,” that “I am your retribution,” and after the lost 2020 election encouraged his followers to “Stop the Steal,” violently, if necessary.
Chapter Nineteen urges every American to be a true patriot, even when it's hard. A patriot doesn't avoid military service when required. A patriot pays their fair share of taxes. A patriot supports the government even when your party loses.
There are many more lessons in this short, easily readable book -- all worth considering, and acting upon, as patriotic citizens during a time when our democracy is under great stress.
For those of you not acquainted with Snyder, he's a historian of Eastern Europe and has written extensively on the turmoil--the killing fields--of Eastern Europe in the 20th century. He knows whereof he speaks.
I will offer you a couple of his thoughts from his concluding remarks. In addressing what he terms "the politics of inevitability," he notes
Until recently, we Americans had convinced ourselves that there was nothing in the future but more of the same. The seemingly distant traumas of fascism, Nazism, and communism seemed to be receding into irrelevance. We allowed ourselves to accept the politics of inevitability, the sense that history could move in only one direction: toward liberal democracy. After communism in eastern Europe came to an end in 1989–91, we imbibed the myth of an “end of history.” In doing so, we lowered our defenses, constrained our imagination, and opened the way for precisely the kinds of regimes we told ourselves could never return.
Snyder, Timothy. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (Kindle Locations 765-769). Crown/Archetype. Kindle Edition.
But he then addresses the converse attitude, what he calls "the politics of eternity." About this attitude, he states
In the politics of eternity, the seduction by a mythicized past prevents us from thinking about possible futures. The habit of dwelling on victimhood dulls the impulse of self-correction. Since the nation is defined by its inherent virtue rather than by its future potential, politics becomes a discussion of good and evil rather than a discussion of possible solutions to real problems. Since the crisis is permanent, the sense of emergency is always present; planning for the future seems impossible or even disloyal. How can we even think of reform when the enemy is always at the gate?
Id. at 810-815
In contrast to both of these attitudes, he places history (an encomium with which I could not agree more):
Both of these positions, inevitability and eternity, are antihistorical. The only thing that stands between them is history itself. History allows us to see patterns and make judgments. It sketches for us the structures within which we can seek freedom. It reveals moments, each one of them different, none entirely unique. To understand one moment is to see the possibility of being the cocreator of another. History permits us to be responsible: not for everything, but for something. The Polish poet Czesław Miłosz thought that such a notion of responsibility worked against loneliness and indifference. History gives us the company of those who have done and suffered more than we have.
Id. at 822-827
In his peroration, he exhorts young people especially (although it applies to all of us)
One thing is certain: If young people do not begin to make history, politicians of eternity and inevitability will destroy it. And to make history, young Americans will have to know some.
This is not the end, but a beginning. “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right!” Thus Hamlet. Yet he concludes: “Nay, come, let’s go together.”
Id. at 830-834
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