On Tyranny is a short but powerful book that looks at how democracies can turn into tyrannical regimes. The book, by eminent historian Timothy Snyder, is a guide and warning as to how easy it is to slip into tyranny. Snyder wrote the book in response to the election of Donald Trump. After the insurrection …
Politics
Utopia For Realists is one of the most thought-provoking and inspiring books I have read in a long time. It’s written by Dutch historian Rutger Bregman. That name may sound familiar. That’s because he went viral at the World Economic Forum for deriding billionaires over their lack of commitment to raising taxes to help eradicate …
The Prince is one of the most important political texts ever written. The importance of the book can be signified by the fact that the ideas presented in the book are referred to as Machiavellian, after the author, Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli looks at how political power can be won and maintained. Despite writing the book …
How To Be Right is a book by British radio talk show host James O’Brien. If you’re unfamiliar with O’Brien, he is notorious in the UK for clips where he ‘schools’ callers on their beliefs. It’s worth watching a few of them on YouTube before you read the book. You’ll get a better understanding of …
Adults In The Room takes a look at the Greek financial crisis through the eyes of Yanis Varoufakis, who was the Greek Finance Minister from January to July 2015. The book is a riveting account of his time as a minister and his dealings with the European Union, as he negotiated a new bailout package. …
This Twilight of Democracy summary looks at a fascinating and personal book by the American-Polish historian, Anne Applebaum, which looks at the threats facing democracy today. What makes this book different from others, is that Applebaum is familiar with many politicians in power around the world today. She recounts how she used to speak to …
This The Communist Manifesto summary looks at one of the most important documents ever written. Regardless of your thoughts about Communism, the importance of the book is undeniable. It inspired numerous revolutions across the globe and despite being written in 1848 is still relevant today. Indeed, there are many people around the globe who live …
This Homage to Catalonia summary looks at George Orwell’s account of his experience fighting in the Spanish Civil War. It is perhaps the best primary account of the war in the English language. Orwell’s account drives home the reality of war, which is that a lot of it is mundane. We expect fantastic battles due …
This How Democracies Die summary looks at an interesting book on how democracies can be subverted from within. We often think democracies are overthrown, but the truth is that they are often broken from within. Democracies are susceptible to being turned into authoritarian states. As the book shows, it happened in Peru, Chile and has …
The Shock Doctrine is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. The book looks at the history of shock therapy and how it dovetails with disaster capitalism to subvert the democratic wishes of the population. It’s safe to say that this book blew my mind. I was vaguely aware of some of …