On Tyranny

Timothy Snyder, who studies the history of 20th-century Europe, looks at how democracies there gave way to fascism, Nazism and communism to identify the conditions that can turn an established democracy into a dictatorship. Holding that history does not repeat but does instruct, he applies those lessons to modern United States politics and what he calls America's turn towards authoritarianism. The short book takes the form of twenty lessons, a series of instructions for resisting tyranny such as defending institutions, remembering professional ethics and believing in truth. It topped the New York Times paperback nonfiction best seller list in 2017 and stayed on best seller lists as late as 2021. A graphic edition illustrated by Nora Krug followed.

George Saunders endorsed it, urging people to read it and calling it smart and timely.