Reviews

Droga do niewolności by Timothy Snyder

cherryghost15's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0


Reading this on kindle now, 6/4/23

The author writes so clearly that you don't have to be a history scholar to understand these fundamental ideologies and where one thing in one country means the opposite in another.

How history plays out and not knowing a nation's history can be so very dangerous. I'd forgotten he has this in the context of Russia's annexation of Crimea, so it is again in context of Ukrainian War.

vvolof's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

yepvictoria's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Timothy  Snyder is someone who will get you excited about history, even if had no interest in it your whole life. I’ve bought his book(a couple of books to be exact) out of respect, as he supported Ukraine from the day one of the russian invasion, but I found so many similarities to the events we are living through now in his work, the methods russia use to get anything done,  what ideology they closest to and so on. 
Highly recommend! 

miq33l's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

When you combine criminality, almost unlimited power and old philosophico-religious ideas that give you ideological basis for your current behaviours you get Vladimir Putin.
Then add a little bit of psy-tech wizardry to create mechanisms of control over minds and what do you get?

You get the world right now.

Snyder shows you how it's done.
Read for inoculation.

michalhaman's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

"Cesta do neslobody je prechod od politiky nevyhnutnosti k politike večnosti."

Koncepty politiky nevyhnutnosti a politiky večnosti postavil Timothy Snyder. Politika večnosti je prístup k politike, ktorý autor pozoruje u Putina. Večnosť si vyberá konkrétne udalosti z minulosti, ktoré upraví podľa svojich potrieb a stavia na nich svoj naratív. Napríklad rok 1774 - Ruská ríša porazila Otomanskú a získala územia na severnej strane Čierneho mora. Tie sa v tom čase nazývali Novorossiia, teda “Nové Rusko”. Na tomto pojme stavia Putin a jeho nasledovníci svoje odôvodnenie, že toto územie bolo vždy ruské, a teda naveky má byť ruské.

Snyder zhŕňa dôležité príbehy z politiky rokov 2011-2016 naprieč Európou, Ruskom a USA. Venuje sa myšlinkam Ivana Ilyina, ktorý ovplyvnil Putina a jeho blízkych ľudí, píše o revolúcii na Ukrajine a následnej invázii v roku 2014, či o príčinách a dôsledkoch zvolenia Trumpa v 2016.

K tejto knihe som sa, zrejme podobne ako viacerí iní, vrátil v apríli 2022. Potom, čo Rusko vo februári naplno zaútočilo na Ukrajinu v snahe totálne ju zničiť. Ponúka pomerne obšírne vysvetlenie smerovania zahraničnej politiky Ruska, v ktorého svetle tento útok nie je prekvapením.

kevin_t's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging informative medium-paced

4.5

adnielsen's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Extremely timely book on Ukraine, Russia, and the United States. Timothy Snyder is one of our generation’s most important historians and here he presents the case that America is slipping in the politics of eternity like Russia. It’s sad to think that Americans have let their freedoms make them vulnerable to foreign manipulation, but that’s where we are. Hopefully, our constitution isn’t overwritten by America First fascists in 2024. Timothy Snyder has warned us that we must be vigilant or we will lose what makes America great.

callies's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Seriously interesting. I need to read it again!

yates9's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

The content is interesting and describes connections many won’t be aware of. But the writing style is difficult and not very clearly organised.

The end chapters are a must read for a more than plausible explanation of the world of divisive influence.

nanno_lib's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0