Om tyranni by Timothy Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“In Shakespeare´s drama Hamlet, the hero was a virtuous man, who was rightly shocked by the abrupt rise of an evil ruler. Haunted by visions, overcome by nightmares, lonely and estranged, he feels that he must reconstruct his sense of time. “The time is out of joint,” says Hamlet, “O curse it spite that ever I was born to set it right". Our time is certainly out of joint. We have forgotten history for one reason and, if we are not careful, we will neglect it for another. We will have to repair our own sense of time if we wish to renew our commitment to liberty.”

With references to central influencers in the main historical discourse of the 20th century, such as Hannah Arendt, Victor Klemperer and Vaclav Havel, to mention but a few, the Yale historian, Timothy Snyder, and his manifesto; On Tyranny, sails right onto the list of the most relevant and readable historically inspired field guides of the present. The literary and historical references are linked to central, political events of our time. Deftly combined with relevant social theory and razor sharp analysis, Snyder comes off as brave, wise and crystal clear in his message to us - the people of the 21st century: “we must learn from the horrors of the past if we want to protect our democracy.” A political manifesto of today, soon to be read, but not to be forgotten.

View all my reviews