On Freedom
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Narrated by:
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Timothy Snyder
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Written by:
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Timothy Snyder
About this listen
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A brilliant exploration of freedom—what it is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival—by the acclaimed Yale historian and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Tyranny
“A rigorous and visionary argument . . . Buy or borrow this book, read it, take it to heart.”—The Guardian
Timothy Snyder has been called “the leading interpreter of our dark times.” As a historian, he has given us startling reinterpretations of political collapse and mass killing. As a public intellectual, he has turned that knowledge toward counsel and prediction, working against authoritarianism here and abroad. His book On Tyranny has inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom. Now, in this tour de force of political philosophy, he helps us see exactly what we’re fighting for.
Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it means—and this is leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state power: We think we're free if we can do and say as we please, and protect ourselves from government overreach. But true freedom isn’t so much freedom from as freedom to—the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible.
On Freedom takes us on a thrilling intellectual journey. Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers, and his own experiences coming of age in a time of American exceptionalism, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes—the habits of mind—that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. We come to appreciate the importance of traditions (championed by the right) but also the role of institutions (the purview of the left). Intimate yet ambitious, this book helps forge a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity, and grace.
©2024 Timothy Snyder (P)2024 Random House AudioYou may also enjoy...
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A good summary, but with one obvious blindspot
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With the end of the Cold War, the victory of liberal democracy was thought to be absolute. Observers declared the end of history, confident in a peaceful, globalized future. But we now know this to be premature. Authoritarianism first returned in Russia, as Putin developed a political system dedicated solely to the consolidation and exercise of power. In the last six years, it has creeped from east to west as nationalism inflames Europe, abetted by Russian propaganda and cyberwarfare.
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War
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Overall
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Performance
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Shocking detail of how close we came to a full blown war- not once but twice.
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Written by: Bob Woodward
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Autocracy, Inc.
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- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
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Story
We think we know what an autocratic state looks like: There is an all-powerful leader at the top. He controls the police. The police threaten the people with violence. There are evil collaborators, and maybe some brave dissidents. But in the 21st century, that bears little resemblance to reality. Nowadays, autocracies are underpinned not by one dictator, but by sophisticated networks composed of kleptocratic financial structures, surveillance technologies, and professional propagandists, all of which operate across multiple regimes, from China to Russia to Iran.
-
-
A good summary, but with one obvious blindspot
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Written by: Anne Applebaum
-
Bloodlands
- Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
- Written by: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bloodlands is a new kind of European history, presenting the mass murders committed by the Nazi and Stalinist regimes as two aspects of a single history, in the time and place where they occurred: between Germany and Russia, when Hitler and Stalin both held power. Assiduously researched, deeply humane, and utterly definitive, Bloodlands will be required listening for anyone seeking to understand the central tragedy of modern history.
Written by: Timothy Snyder
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- Written by: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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The times they are a changing!! But which way?
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Performance
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Mary Trump grew up in a family divided by its patriarch’s relentless drive for money and power. The daughter of Freddy Trump, the highly accomplished, dashing eldest son of wealthy real estate developer Fred Trump, and Linda Clapp, a flight attendant from a working-class family, Mary lived in the shadow of Freddy’s humiliation at the hands of his father.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world’s most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through 34 nations and 60 years of political and cultural change—all in one integrated, enthralling narrative.
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Good content; terrible narrator
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Pwerful, Timely
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Revealing
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The Wide Wide Sea
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On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment? Hampton Sides’ bravura account of Cook’s last journey both wrestles with Cook’s legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration.
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What would it be like to sit down for an impassioned, entertaining conversation with Hillary Clinton? In Something Lost, Something Gained, Hillary offers her candid views on life and love, politics, liberty, democracy, the threats we face, and the future within our reach. She describes the strength she draws from her deepest friendships, her Methodist faith, and the nearly fifty years she’s been married to President Bill Clinton—all with the wisdom that comes from looking back on a full life with fresh eyes.
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Something lost something gained
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Gulag
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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The Gates of Europe
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Ukraine is currently embroiled in a tense fight with Russia to preserve its territorial integrity and political independence. But today's conflict is only the latest in a long history of battles over Ukraine's territory and its existence as a sovereign nation. As the award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy argues in The Gates of Europe, we must examine Ukraine's past in order to understand its present and future.
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Shameless
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Shameless, Brian Tyler Cohen lays bare the long con of the modern Republican Party. While the radical right continues hiding behind gaslighting maneuvers, artificial slogans, and hollow catchphrases, Cohen’s unflinching narrative illuminates the realities and dangers of the ever-widening gulf between the vaunted Republican brand and their actual behavior.
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Classic BTC style, written with earnest and precise clarity.
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Prequel
- An American Fight Against Fascism
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- Unabridged
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Performance
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Inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century. Before and even after our troops had begun fighting abroad in World War II, a clandestine network flooded the country with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of the U.S. war effort and persuading Americans that our natural alliance was with the Axis, not against it.
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Nazis in America
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What the critics say
“Stimulating . . . With all his deep absorption in Eastern Europe, Snyder has no illusions about the dilemma of freedom in his own country. Apart from his work as a professor, he teaches prisoners, which gives him a keener appreciation of the unique horrors of American mass incarceration.”—The New York Times
“[A] timely manifesto for our fearful age . . . Snyder knows how precious and fragile freedom is because he has studied and, in Ukraine, even seen what happens to people when brutes take it away. . . . His knowledge of tyranny is invaluable in analyzing freedom. But Snyder’s book goes well beyond history. . . . [which] makes On Freedom intellectually rich, yet personal.”—Financial Times
“[Snyder’s] deep political and philosophical examination of . . . how to create and sustain freedom provides a hopeful view for the future.”—Los Angeles Times
What listeners say about On Freedom
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Peter K
- 2024-10-18
Thought provoking and interesting
A well-structured book. I like that it followed a logical path methodically. Well worth the listen. I learned a lot about the USA. Many aspects are relevant to the rest of the world. I would highly recommend this book.
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- LThom
- 2025-01-04
Learning and reflecting
I really enjoyed this listen- it was very well done. The author reads the book and with that you understand the emphasis that he is trying to convey. I learned a lot about the political systems and the history in Eastern Europe and Russia which allows me to understand today's issues better. The reflection on Freedom helped me to consider what the lens should be to build a better future, it really isn't what we have been sold.
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