On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century is a 2017 book by Timothy Snyder, a historian of 20th-century Europe. The book was published by Tim Duggan Books in hardcover and by Penguin Random House in paperback.[1] A graphic version, illustrated by Nora Krug, was released October 5, 2021.[2] The book topped the New York Times bestseller list for paperback nonfiction in 2017[3] and remained on bestseller lists as late as 2021.[4][5]
On Tyranny focuses on the concept of tyranny in the context of the modern United States politics, analyzing what Snyder calls "America's turn towards authoritarianism".[6] Explaining that "(h)istory does not repeat, but it does instruct,"[7] he analyzes recent European history to identify conditions that can enable established democracies to transform into dictatorships.[8][9] The short (126 pages) book is presented as a series of twenty instructions on how to combat the rise of tyranny, such as "Defend institutions", "Remember professional ethics", and "Believe in truth".[10]
- ^ "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century". Penguin Random House. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ Snyder, Timothy (October 5, 2021). On Tyranny Graphic Edition: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. ISBN 978-1984860392.
- ^ Gonzales, Susan (October 21, 2017). "One Yale historian, two NYT bestsellers". Yale News. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ Juris, Carolyn (January 22, 2021). "This Week's Bestsellers: January 25, 2021". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ "Washington Post paperback bestsellers". The Washington Post. February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ Rucker, Philip; Costa, Robert (October 2, 2019). "'A presidency of one': Key federal agencies increasingly compelled to benefit Trump". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ "A review of 'On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century'". Daily Kos. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ Dean, Dominic (November 10, 2017). "On tyranny: twenty lessons from the twentieth century / Complicity: criticism between collaboration and commitment". Textual Practice. 31 (7): 1533–1542. doi:10.1080/0950236X.2017.1374041. ISSN 0950-236X. S2CID 148634091.
- ^ Gove, Michael. "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ Sly, Jordan (2017). "Timothy Snyder. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. New York: Tim Duggan Books, 2017. 126p. Paper, $7.99 (ISBN 978-0-8041-9011-4)." College & Research Libraries. 78 (6): 868. doi:10.5860/crl.78.6.868. ISSN 2150-6701.