4thace@books.theunseen.city reviewed On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
It's short because there's no time to waste
5 stars
This short book is having its moment with the dismantling of government institutions in the United States as a backdrop. The pattern of takeover by authoritarian forces happens like the way Mike Campbell describes how his ruin happened in The Sun Also Rises "Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly." There is first an erosion of norms, a bad actor gets a foothold in a place where they can exert influence, then there is a pivotal event like the fire at Germany's Reichstag and then the machinery of free government is taken away. The author organized this book in twenty chapters with titles that encapsulate the whole message. A person alarmed by the threat of state capture can read more context and a justification in the body of each chapter.
At the present time I think the United States hasn't yet blown through the entire process of takeover so I think the …
This short book is having its moment with the dismantling of government institutions in the United States as a backdrop. The pattern of takeover by authoritarian forces happens like the way Mike Campbell describes how his ruin happened in The Sun Also Rises "Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly." There is first an erosion of norms, a bad actor gets a foothold in a place where they can exert influence, then there is a pivotal event like the fire at Germany's Reichstag and then the machinery of free government is taken away. The author organized this book in twenty chapters with titles that encapsulate the whole message. A person alarmed by the threat of state capture can read more context and a justification in the body of each chapter.
At the present time I think the United States hasn't yet blown through the entire process of takeover so I think the book might still be of good use. There are multiple countries where citizens' rights are also under attack so it could be a good resource there as well.
