On Tyranny
by Timothy Snyder · first published 2017
55% recommend45% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, quick read (about two hours) that draws twenty lessons from twentieth-century history on how democracies slide into authoritarianism and what ordinary people can do, such as not obeying in advance.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In previous books, Holocaust historian Timothy Snyder dissected the events and values that enabled the rise of Hitler and Stalin and the execution of their catastrophic policies. With Twenty Lessons, Snyder draws from the darkest hours of the twentieth century to provide hope for the twenty-first. As he writes, "Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism and communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience."
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…classic. I reread this for a bookclub. It's a bit esoteric, but I coupled it with Weinbergs General Systems Thinking and extracted some vague but interesting insights. --- Author: Timmothy Snyder Book: On Tyranny This is a short and captivating book. I read it in about an hour and a half on Remembrance Day.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗…different takes on race relations in America) - Astrophysics for People in a Hurry: Neil deGrasse Tyson - Seven Brief Lessons on Physics: Carlo Rovelli - When Breath Becomes Air: Paul Kalanithi - On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century: Timothy Snyder - Requiem for the American Dream: The Principles of Concentrated Wealth and Power: Noam Chomsky - Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media…
on “Ask HN: Good non-fiction books without filler?” ↗If you like Arendt, check out Snyder's On Tyranny and Mesquita's The Dictator's Handbook.
on “The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012 (1992) [pdf]” ↗…but he is definitely the modern embodiment of the ideals of our founding fathers. He prescribes investing in our institutions as the potential back-pressure on our decay (my choice of word, not his). "On Tyranny" is a great very short book and he also put it on youtube. Very much worth a read/watch. I think you would enjoy Snyder's talks on the "politics of inevitability" (on youtube) and the idea that democracy…
on “Risky bank debt makes customers safer” ↗Non tech book “On tyranny by Timothy Snyder”. The book points out that it is easy too loose democracy if you do not protect it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33917107-on-tyranny
on “Ask HN: What are some interesting books you read in 2017?” ↗…shouldn't think that "the pendulum will swing the other way"; sometimes it does, but if it doesn't then it's to late for a do-over. My thoughts on this are greatly influenced by a recent book called "On Tyranny; Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century" by Timothy Snyder.
on “Anti-corruption shortfalls fuelling ‘global democracy crisis’” ↗BTW (I'm not a huge friend of Barthes :-) an excellent (and frightening) and short (!) book on this topic is Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. Highly recommended. Outlines the steps the Nazis (and other fascists) took to silence the opposition, get everyone slowly into line, undermine the "public…
on “New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking” ↗On the topid of neo contemptory fascism, I'd highly recommend reading Timothy David Snyder's works. Particularly these two: - On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century - Road To Unfreedom
on “Umberto Eco on common features of fascism (2016)” ↗…idea that ultimately propelled him into the white house and it was his enemies who ultimately put him there. If I were you I would spend a few hours on you tube with Timothy Snyder and read his book 'On Tyranny: the illustrated version." He has a lot to say about Russian propaganda on youtube. Here is his speech to the UN that you will almost certainly like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBz9EeLeQ8w Here…
on “Ask HN: Is anyone else noticing degradation of comment quality on HN?” ↗I don't follow channels. But... I watched a 23-episode Yale class on the History of Ukraine, by prof. Tim Snyder. In fact I binged it. Then I went out and bought Bloodlands and On Tyranny. On Tyranny is a thin book, I read it in a couple of hours. But Bloodlands is fat; I read it in two days. Snyder is a very engaging lecturer. I wish even one of my uni lecturers had been half so engaging.…
on “YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers” ↗There's a great book that I think everyone should read: "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century" by Tim Snyder, it's also is short and to the point (audiobook is 2 hours long) and teaches people what to look for to see when their country slides into authoritarianism…
on “Biden signs TikTok bill into law, starting clock for ByteDance to divest” ↗From Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny 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…
on “Risks, mitigation, and protection, for incoming U.S. government change” ↗…whole manipulation is much easier to do. This isn't just isolated to US and it is being used in Europe too. Look at elections in Moldova, Romania, what's happening in Germany etc. Timothy Snyder's "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century" book is a must read so we can prevent this. Here's summary of the lessons: https://substack.com/@snyder/p-155209838 The book is quite short and he also reads…
on “Phyllis Fong, who was investigating Neuralink, "forcefully removed "” ↗Twenty lessons on tyranny from Timothy Snyder: https://snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-lessons-on-tyranny
on “Resist Authoritarianism by Refusing to Obey in Advance (2017)” ↗Timothy Snyder wrote a book on resisting authoritarian regimes: On Tyranny. He also did a reading of each chapter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhZxrogyToZsllfRqQlly...
on “The Authoritarian Regime Survival Guide” ↗