Call number
GRAPH N SNY
Collection
Genres
Publication
Ten Speed Press (2021), Edition: Reprint, 128 pages
Description
The author argues that American society is leaning toward despotism and totalitarianism and looks back at the 20th century for examples of how totalitarianism has taken over before. "Timothy Snyder's New York Times bestseller On Tyranny uses the darkest moments in twentieth-century history, from Nazism to Communism, to teach twenty lessons on resisting modern-day authoritarianism. Among the twenty include a warning to be aware of how symbols used today could affect tomorrow ('4: Take responsibility for the face of the world'), an urgent reminder to research everything for yourself and to the fullest extent ('11: Investigate'), a point to use personalized and individualized speech rather than clichéd phrases for the sake of mass appeal ('9: Be kind to our language'), and more. In this graphic edition, Nora Krug draws from her highly inventive art style in Belonging--at once a graphic memoir, collage-style scrapbook, historical narrative, and trove of memories--to breathe new life, color, and power into Snyder's riveting historical references, turning a quick-read pocket guide of lessons into a visually striking rumination. In a time of great uncertainty and instability, this edition of On Tyranny emphasizes the importance of being active, conscious, and deliberate participants in resistance."--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Judiex
The graphic edition of ON TYRANNY was published in October 2021. It has the information from the original book but is enriched with examples from 2018-2021 (i.e., the Trump administration). Part of this additional information relates to the media. There is a movement towards publicizing dark
The illustrations are on target.
Following is my review of the original book:
Yale history professor Timothy Snyder wrote ON TYRANNY Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century in 2017. Based on well-known historical events, the short, well-written, thought provoking book explains how a country can change from a democracy to a tyrannical state in a very short period of time.
Many of the democracies created in the first half of the twentieth century have already collapsed. Among the reasons are:
People and government agencies anticipating what they though the leader wanted even if it hadn’t been ordered. For example, local Austrian Nazis and the French Vichy attacked the Jewish populations, sometimes more extremely than those under Hitler’s command were doing.
Rival parties and ideas were suppressed and voting restrictions were enacted to create a one-party state.
Professionals and workers followed the orders of the professional leaders rather than their professional ethics and standards, e.g., doctors performing unnecessary procedures, including murder..
Police and military forces were intermingled and the leaders formed a personal security force against dissenters.
Leaders using an isolated incident, such as the burning of the Reichstag, as an excuse to expand power.
Snyder provided examples of people who stood apart from the sheep to stop the spread. Even though much of Europe was already under Nazi rule, Winston Churchill refused to follow the examples of the governments of the Soviet Union and France who quickly fell into the Nazi camp.
In order to know what is actually happen, especially in these days with so many sources of information, much of it false, people should Investigate and seek the truth. They should actually differentiate what they want to hear from what is actually being said.
The only thing the book is missing is a checklist for the readers to note which are happening or have happened in the US since Donald Trump took office.
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conspiracies and gossip, “allow[ing] private matters to supplant the public story they are supposed to be covering.” The coverage of the 2016 Presidential campaign was a major example of the media not doing its job. It still has a long way to go. The illustrations are on target.
Following is my review of the original book:
Yale history professor Timothy Snyder wrote ON TYRANNY Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century in 2017. Based on well-known historical events, the short, well-written, thought provoking book explains how a country can change from a democracy to a tyrannical state in a very short period of time.
Many of the democracies created in the first half of the twentieth century have already collapsed. Among the reasons are:
People and government agencies anticipating what they though the leader wanted even if it hadn’t been ordered. For example, local Austrian Nazis and the French Vichy attacked the Jewish populations, sometimes more extremely than those under Hitler’s command were doing.
Rival parties and ideas were suppressed and voting restrictions were enacted to create a one-party state.
Professionals and workers followed the orders of the professional leaders rather than their professional ethics and standards, e.g., doctors performing unnecessary procedures, including murder..
Police and military forces were intermingled and the leaders formed a personal security force against dissenters.
Leaders using an isolated incident, such as the burning of the Reichstag, as an excuse to expand power.
Snyder provided examples of people who stood apart from the sheep to stop the spread. Even though much of Europe was already under Nazi rule, Winston Churchill refused to follow the examples of the governments of the Soviet Union and France who quickly fell into the Nazi camp.
In order to know what is actually happen, especially in these days with so many sources of information, much of it false, people should Investigate and seek the truth. They should actually differentiate what they want to hear from what is actually being said.
The only thing the book is missing is a checklist for the readers to note which are happening or have happened in the US since Donald Trump took office.
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LibraryThing member addunn3
Well worth reading, especially in our current political situation.
LibraryThing member SESchend
Read this a few years ago when it was a print long-form essay and was very impressed by its clarity of thought.
This graphic edition more emotionally and viscerally underscores the author's messages and drives home the urgency of the growing problems with authoritarianism in the past few years
Highly recommended, and definitely an edition I'd buy in bulk for classes were I a history teacher…
This graphic edition more emotionally and viscerally underscores the author's messages and drives home the urgency of the growing problems with authoritarianism in the past few years
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worldwide.Highly recommended, and definitely an edition I'd buy in bulk for classes were I a history teacher…
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LibraryThing member DarthDeverell
Timothy Snyder and Nora Krug’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century offers a guide on how to resist the current rise of tyranny in western democracies, complete with illustrations that support the main argument and underscore Snyder’s theses. They implore their readers not to
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obey in advance; to defend institutions; to beware the one-party state; to take responsibility for the face of the world; to remember professional ethics; to be wary of paramilitaries; to be reflective if they must be armed; to stand out; to be kind to our language; to believe in truth; to investigate; to make eye contact and small talk; to practice corporeal politics; to establish a private life; to contribute to good causes; to learn from peers in other countries; to listen for dangerous words; to be calm when the unthinkable arrives; to be a patriot; and to be as courageous as they can. They caution that the current era of post-truth only serves fascism as it feeds propaganda (p. 63). Discussing the importance of a private life, Snyder writes, “We are free only insofar as we exercise control over what people know about us, and in what circumstances they come to know it” (p. 80). This cautions people not to accept leaks from unethical sources in the same caliber as serious, investigative work that puts information in context. Describing the importance of history, Snyder writes of Russia’s propaganda efforts in the mid-2010s, “History, which for a time seemed to be running from west to east, now seems to be moving from east to west. Everything that happens here seems to happen there first” (p. 89). Further, “History gives us the company of those who have done and suffered more than we have” in resisting totalitarianism and fascism (p. 119). Krug’s artwork perfectly complements Snyder’s text while using historical art to reflect the sources Snyder cites. Snyder and Krug’s book is all-too-timely, especially as the 2024 election approaches. Show Less
Pages
128
ISBN
1984860399 / 9781984860392