40 pages • 1 hour read
On Tyranny
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary and Study Guide
Overview
On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder, PhD, describes how tyrants have dismantled 20th-century republics and replaced them with totalitarian regimes, and how threats to democracies still exist today, including in America. Published in 2017, On Tyranny holds the distinction of being a #1 New York Times bestseller.
Dr. Snyder is a Yale professor of European history. His short and pithy book details the methods that demagogues, including Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, have used to degrade and topple democratic institutions. A would-be tyrant will propose that a mythical era of past national greatness can be revived and that only he can achieve it. He then relies on the willingness of an otherwise free people to put themselves under his authority. Using lies and distortions, along with ridicule, intimidation, and force against his opponents, the tyrant tightens his grip on the country. Finally, a disaster or emergency provides him with the excuse he needs to take total control of the nation and eradicate personal liberties.
Threats to democracy haven’t ended with the defeat of Hitler or the collapse of Communism. Even in today’s America the danger is real, given the current president’s use of lies, denunciations, and threats—behaviors that resemble those used by Hitler and, more recently, by Russian leader Unlock all 40 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
Related Titles
By Timothy Snyder
