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The Road to Unfreedom
Russia, Europe, America
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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
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. While countries like Poland and Hungary have made hard turns toward authoritarianism, the electoral upsets of 2016 revealed the citizens of the US and UK in revolt against their countries’ longstanding policies and values.
But this threat to the West also presents the opportunity to better understand the pillars of our own political order. In this forceful and unsparing work of contemporary history, Snyder goes beyond the headlines to expose the true nature of the threat to democracy. By showcasing the stark choices before us - between equality or oligarchy, individuality or totality, truth and falsehood - Snyder restores our understanding of the basis of our way of life, offering a way forward in a time of terrible uncertainty.
©2018 Timothy Snyder (P)2018 Random House AudioYou may also enjoy...
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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.
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New Learning
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The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.
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Black Earth
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Overreach
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The Russo-Ukrainian War is the most serious geopolitical crisis since the Second World War—and yet at the heart of the conflict is a mystery. Vladimir Putin lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime—and Russia itself—at risk of destruction. Why? Drawing on over 25 years’ experience working in Moscow, journalist Owen Matthews provides the answer. He takes us inside the COVID bubble where Putin conceived his invasion plans in a fog of nationalist fantasy and bad information.
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Outstanding overview
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Overall
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In this exclusive audiobook edition, which includes eight hours of new content, Snyder combines the original essays from On Tyranny with twenty new lessons that answer the questions everyone is asking about this war. With forays into history, he clarifies the causes of the Russian invasion and the meaning of Ukrainian resistance, and explains the war's connections to threats to democracy here in the United States and around the world. Linking past and present, speaking only from notes, he guides the listener into the larger moral universe of On Tyranny.
-
-
Trump Derangement Syndrome as academic essay.
- By R. Ward on 2022-11-06
Written by: Timothy Snyder
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On Freedom
- Written by: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Thought provoking and interesting
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Written by: Timothy Snyder
-
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.
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-
New Learning
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Written by: Timothy Snyder
-
On Tyranny
- Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
- Written by: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Timothy Snyder
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.
-
-
The times they are a changing!! But which way?
- By MW "Photodude." on 2019-05-06
Written by: Timothy Snyder
-
Black Earth
- The Holocaust as History and Warning
- Written by: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this epic history of extermination and survival, Timothy Snyder presents a new explanation of the great atrocity of the twentieth century, and reveals the risks that we face in the twenty-first. Based on untapped sources from eastern Europe and forgotten testimonies from Jewish survivors, Black Earth recounts the mass murder of the Jews as an event that is still close to us, more comprehensible than we would like to think and thus all the more terrifying.
-
-
A difficult but important read
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-09-15
Written by: Timothy Snyder
-
Overreach
- The Inside Story of Putin’s War Against Ukraine
- Written by: Owen Matthews
- Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Russo-Ukrainian War is the most serious geopolitical crisis since the Second World War—and yet at the heart of the conflict is a mystery. Vladimir Putin lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime—and Russia itself—at risk of destruction. Why? Drawing on over 25 years’ experience working in Moscow, journalist Owen Matthews provides the answer. He takes us inside the COVID bubble where Putin conceived his invasion plans in a fog of nationalist fantasy and bad information.
-
-
Outstanding overview
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The Gates of Europe
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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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A good histor, ok narrator
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The Madness of Crowds
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In The Madness of Crowds Douglas Murray investigates the dangers of ‘woke’ culture and the rise of identity politics. In lively, razor-sharp prose he examines the most controversial issues of our moment: sexuality, gender, technology and race, with interludes on the Marxist foundations of ‘wokeness’, the impact of tech and how, in an increasingly online culture, we must relearn the ability to forgive.
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Preaching to the choir and little else.
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Twilight of Democracy
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- Written by: Anne Applebaum
- Narrated by: Anne Applebaum
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From the United States and Britain to continental Europe and beyond, liberal democracy is under siege, while authoritarianism is on the rise. In Twilight of Democracy, Anne Applebaum, an award-winning historian of Soviet atrocities who was one of the first American journalists to raise an alarm about antidemocratic trends in the West, explains the lure of nationalism and autocracy. In this captivating essay, she contends that political systems with radically simple beliefs are inherently appealing, especially when they benefit the loyal to the exclusion of everyone else.
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Not her best work
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Written by: Anne Applebaum
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The Psychology of Totalitarianism
- Written by: Mattias Desmet
- Narrated by: Dan Crue
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Totalitarianism is not a coincidence and does not form in a vacuum. It arises from a collective psychosis that has followed a predictable script throughout history. In The Psychology of Totalitarianism, world-renowned Professor of Clinical Psychology Mattias Desmet deconstructs the societal conditions that allow this collective psychosis to take hold. By looking at our current situation and identifying the phenomenon of “mass formation”—a type of collective hypnosis—he clearly illustrates how close we are to surrendering to totalitarian regimes.
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Powerfully informative and inspiring of hope.
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Written by: Mattias Desmet
What the critics say
"Combining topical reporting with delvings into the history of ideas and some political-philosophical musing in the author’s own voice, this relatively short book covers a vast canvas.... A roller-coaster world calls for a news editor's skill in processing facts and a philosopher's ability to dissect ideologies. Snyder has both." (The Economist)
"The Road to Unfreedom offers a brief, potent and carefully documented history of Vladimir Putin's consolidation of power in Russia, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election." (Chicago Tribune)
“We are living in dangerous times, Timothy Snyder argues forcefully and eloquently in his new book.... To understand Putin, Snyder argues persuasively, you must understand his ideas.... The Road to Unfreedom is a good wake-up call.” (Margaret MacMillan, The New York Times Book Review)
- A New York Times Editors' Choice
- Shortlisted for the 2019 Lionel Gelber Prize
What listeners say about The Road to Unfreedom
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ynordu
- 2019-07-08
important work
its impotant to read this book, as we can learn how we are controlled and treated as the people
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sally Han
- 2024-02-04
Essential reading
Timothy Snyder is a rare historian who’s relevant to the current events. This book will be an eye opener for many who believe that the US and Russia have little in common.
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-09-13
I’m a student of history thank you for the Master Class
Concise
Articulate
Can’t wait for the next podcast
Motivated 1st gen Ukrainian Canadian
Dad was a medical student during WW2
Brother born stateless
Dad taught me to love and respect
Have forgotten that lesson.
Generational trauma rises again with Putin’s megalomaniac inclinations
Trying very hard to not hate Russians
But their ignorance will come back to haunt them
Steve in Canada
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- Andriy Makukha
- 2023-06-04
Crystal clear
Crystal clear view into the modern Russian invasions of Ukraine, the history of the conflict and the mindset of the imperialist Russian elites.
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- seesul
- 2018-12-10
Essential Reading
Snyder weaves history with investigative journalism to illuminate the mechanisms of the resurgent fascist movement
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2022-03-22
An Excellent Overview
incredible context for the geopolitical issues of eastern Europe, how we arrived here and how it's being exported elsewhere
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- Jake L.S.
- 2020-09-04
Interesting.
good breakdown of the connections amongst russia, europe and america today. lots of nefarious activity indeed!
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1 person found this helpful
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- GEB
- 2022-03-31
Most important book for human & political progress
Extremely informative on past and present issues involving manipulation of the human populace. Eye opening and truly worth the listen!
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- KatieB
- 2023-02-17
Must read
Especially wonderful to have Prof Snyder reading his own book. You keep checking the dates: how everything in 2014, 2016 came to pass. A history book that must be read to grasp the present. The first chapters are a slog reading through the insanity of Russian fascist philospophy. Yet rather than ask “how does Putin feel” as so many commentators ask today, this is the blueprint on what Putin thinks.
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