The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America | 
We were without power for five nights after the bomb cyclone hit western WA. Treated myself to a visit at my favorite local indie. I‘ve earned it.
so-soHow does one rate a book like this? I read it at the suggestion of a friend.The authors political views are the polar opposite of mine,but this book got me thinking.After reading it,it‘s hard to decide what to believe. The author seems very knowledgeable and definitely made a point. I‘d like to read a book telling the story from the opposite point of view. It‘s definitely going to be a crazy time between now and the ‘24 election!
pickTalk from Putin‘s camp of “denazification” & “desatanization” of Ukraine seemed so bizarre & laughable, but Snyder offers serious origins of Russian mythology & ideology behind the lies. Ivan Ilyin. Kleptocracy. The “innocent nation.” Historical narratives of inevitability & eternity. Russia=sacred idea rather than nation state w/ clear borders. But Snyder‘s arguments can resemble the aggrandizing, sweeping claims he associates with Putin… 2018
pickManaged to finish during kiddo‘s violin and then swim lessons today (#momlife). This was fascinating, enlightening, terrifying, brutally honest, and so much more. Another one I need to add to my collection and track down more of the author‘s work. Highly recommend this to understand how the Trump presidency happened and what‘s going on in Ukraine (this was published in 2018 but deals with the 2014 invasion and makes current events clearer.
Russians knew Trump for what he was: not the “VERY successful businessman” of his tweets but an American loser who became a Russian tool.
For #DeadPhilosophersSociety #ThisLife peeps: “And this is what eternity means: the same thing over and over again, a tedium exciting to believers because of the illusion that it is particularly theirs.”
Just starting this one and already it‘s very good, a little confusing, and very, very real.
I want EVERYONE to read this book - it really opened my eyes up to Putin (& Trump!)
Also, Snyder became an autobuy author for me after reading it, and I now want to read ALL the books about modern day Russia!
#integrateyourshelf @ChasingOm @Emilymdxn
"If all the federal government did was maximize inequality and suppress votes, at some point a line would be crossed. Americans, like Russians, would eventually cease to believe in their own elections; then the United States, like the Russian Federation, would be in permanent succession crisis, with no legitimate way to choose leaders. This would be the triumph of the Russian foreign policy of the 2010s..."
pickI learnt a lot about elections, Putin & Trump from this book! 5 🌟 and another square on #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
#weeklyforecast @Cinfhen
Basically continue all of these, maybe finish tagged and A Year in Provence.
#bookreport week 8/8/20 @Cinfhen
Good week this week!
Finished
Bunny
Dark Days
An Almond for a Parrot
Other Minds
Drawdown
Continued
Pride and Prejudice
Started
A Year in Provence
The Road to Unfreedom
pickIf you want to better understand Putin‘s Russia, and the invasion of Crimea and Ukraine, this is a book you should try. Snyder spends most of the book discussing those and adjacent topics. But the last third ties it all to what‘s happening in the US. Yes, Trump. But also many policies that have been introduced in the last 20ish years.
Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2020
#nonfictionchallenge2020 #aboutcurrentwartornarea
For more about those two things (politics of eternity and inevitability), see two quotes in my blog post review. But this passage about inequality really hit home for me.
So much food for thought here. What is freedom in a democracy? Or anywhere else? This article from WaPo gave me pause this morning (apologies for the paywall): https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/04/new-report-shows-freedom-is-d... I‘ll add a quote from it in the comments.
This whole passage gave me some interesting insights into the impact of the changing media landscape on our lives. A lot of local papers have closed their doors, and they are the most relevant sources for individuals.
When we stop reading about things that affect our own lives, and just reading news for entertainment, this weakens the press. And a weaker, less local press, also means we are vulnerable to entertainers pushing their perspectives.
There are so many great passages in this book. My review is posted on my blog, and I‘ll add my review post here soon. For now, I‘ll just flood your feed with some quotes.
That last sentence ... “The very idea of impartiality assumes that there are truths that can be understood regardless of perspective.”
It‘s taking me a while to get through this - mostly via audio - and I‘m glad I have the book for reference, too.
#nonfictionchallenge2020
#aboutawartornarea
#russiavsukraine
Started trying to make my way through this ... not an easy listen or read.
pickSnyder argues that the US, as a country of increasing inequality, has made itself ripe for oligarchy and vulnerable to foreign influence toward the destabilization of our democracy, as seen by the ongoing cyberattacks by Russia and the complicity and complacency of US elected officials who stand to gain from such attacks. This book puts into context the history we're living right now and provides a general roadmap towards recovering our democracy.
Restless and not enjoying The Testaments, I have turned to audio-crocheting, with the book-book by my side for underlining purposes. This one isn't technically in my #24B4Monday stack, but it's the audiobook I have at hand. Dystopian nonfiction instead of dystopian fiction.
"The greater and the more obvious the lie, the more his subjects demonstrate their loyalty by accepting it..."
pickA disquieting examination of the maligned forces at play in the current presidency.
“To distract from their inability or unwillingness to reform, eternity politicians instruct their citizens to experience elation and outrage at short intervals, drowning the future in the present.“
(And don't worry...this isn't a library book. I bought a copy specifically so I could underline and write in the margins.)
Picked up a new horror story. Hopefully it has a happy ending.
Kindle daily deal alert in the uk! 99p!
I bought as soon as I saw bbc history magazine book of the year winner and I loved his book on tyranny.
pickA rigorous intellectual history of the slow subversion of post-Cold War democracy, written with a graceful clarity that‘s Orwellian in the best sense. The politics of eternity and inevitability, exhibited respectively by Russia and the West, are a dialectic; Snyder shows how eternity politics takes root in the cracks of Western liberalism. His formulation of Trump‘s “sadopopulism” is also deeply insightful. Essential reading.
“Of course, citizens play their part in creating a totalitarian atmosphere. [...] Citizens are curious: surely what is hidden is most interesting, and surely the thrill of revelation is liberation. Once all that is taken for granted, the discussion shifts from the public and the known to the secret and the unknown. Rather than trying to make sense of what is around us, we hunger for the next revelation.”
———
So much here is hitting home for me.
“The temptation to believe what feels right assails us at all times from all directions. Authoritarianism begins when we can no longer tell the difference between the true and the appealing. [...] To seek the truth means finding a way between conformity and complacency, towards individuality. [...] When inequality is too great, the truth is too much for the miserable, and too little for the privileged.”
“Inevitability and eternity are not history but ideas within history, ways of experiencing our time that accelerate its trends while slowing our thoughts. To see, we must set aside the dark glass, and see as we are seen, ideas for what they are, history as what we make it. [...] As institutions are destroyed, virtues reveal themselves. A history of loss is thus a proposal for restoration.”
On sadopopulusm: “The politics of eternity converts pain into meaning, and then meaning back into more pain. [...] Under Trump, Americans came to expect the administration of pain and pleasure, the daily outrage or triumph. For supporters and opponents alike, experience of politics became an addictive behavior, like time spent online or on heroin: a cycle of good and bad moments spent all alone.”
Probably the most important passage in this book.
pickThis was really good and, just like Snyder's Black Earth, taught me a lot. I've already had the school librarian order it, and recommended it to several of my students. If you're interested in politics, Russia's influence in American (and European) affairs and the media, this is a great book to read.
I borrowed this from the library and find it really interesting but also overwhelming due to all the info that goes along with a nonfiction book. I'm getting frustrated with myself for not being able to concentrate on it or absorb the info like I think I should. Sometimes I think I'm just not smart enough.
Yesterday I made a special trip to the library for this book despite having an upset stomach. It's "current history" about Russia and its machinations over the last few years.
#librarybook #nonfiction #CurrentHistory
