★★★★☆ | History | Digital | Borrow | StoryGraph | Goodreads
A concise summary of the tactics used by totalitarian governments to suppress freedom and democracy. Clear examples from twentieth-century despots support each of the twenty lessons. Reading this on the heels of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich helped me crystalize the most significant actions taken by Hitler to assume his reign of terror.
The lessons are written both as a caution and a call to action. This short book serves as a good reminder that just because we’ve enjoyed an unprecedented era of democracy, we cannot take that freedom for granted.
Highlights
Fascists rejected reason in the name of will, denying objective truth in favor of a glorious myth articulated by leaders who claimed to give voice to the people.
History allows us to see patterns and make judgments. It sketches for us the structures within which we can seek freedom.