NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “visionary” ( The Guardian ) 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 On Tyranny “[Snyder’s] deep political and philosophical examination
of how to . . . create and sustain freedom provides a hopeful view for the future.” —Los
Angeles Times FINALIST FOR THE PEN JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD 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.
