The Road to Unfreedom

Russia, Europe, America

By: Timothy Snyder

Narrated by: Timothy Snyder

The audiobook edition of The Road to Unfreedom, written and read by Timothy Snyder.

This prescient analysis of Russia's ongoing interference in the West, from the author of international bestseller On Tyranny, is now more relevant than ever.

The past is another country, the old saying goes. The same might be said of the future. But which country? For Europeans and Americans today, the answer is Russia.

In this visionary work of contemporary history, Timothy Snyder shows how Russia works within the West to destroy the West; by supporting the far right in Europe, invading Ukraine in 2014, and waging a cyberwar during the 2016 presidential campaign and the EU referendum. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the creation of Donald Trump, an American failure deployed as a Russian weapon. But this threat presents an opportunity to better understand the pillars of our freedoms and face the choices that will determine the future: equality or oligarchy, individualism or totalitarianism, truth or lies.

'One of the best...brisk, conceptually convincing account of democracy's retreat in the early years of 21st century' Guardian

'A brilliant and disturbing analysis, which should be read by anyone wishing to understand the political crisis currently engulfing the world' Yuval Noah Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens

© Timothy Snyder 2018 (P) Penguin Audio 2018

Critic reviews

A brilliant and disturbing analysis, which should be read by anyone wishing to understand the political crisis currently engulfing the world (YUVAL NOAH HARARI, author of SAPIENS and HOMO DEUS)

This story of how Russia dismantled democracy, and the man who set its template for fake news, is chilling and persuasive ... unignorable... a disturbing and persuasive insight... Snyder's forensic examination of, for example the news cycle that followed the shooting down of flight MH17 makes essential reading ... Meticulously researched and footnoted. (Tim Adams)

One of the best…brisk, conceptually convincing account of democracy’s retreat in the early years of 21st century (Luke Harding)

Snyder’s central thesis is a strong one… Vividly and insightfully told. (Edward Lucas)

A rollercoaster world calls for a news editor’s skills in processing facts and a philosopher’s ability to dissect ideologies. He has both.

The Road to Unfreedom is a sprawling epic that veers from Dark Ages Kiev to modern day Washington and back again. (Oliver Bullough)

Snyder’s informative timeline of events on the ground in Ukraine is vivid, and offers a much greater understanding of how this conflict emerged than we got in most English-language news coverage (Katrina Gulliver)

Timothy Snyder… offers unexpected insights into the seemingly familiar events of the past decade (Anne Applebaum)

Timothy Snyder is one of the world’s top historians… [The Road to Unfreedom is a] bracing analysis (William Leith)

If there’s one book to help explain the bloody mess we find ourselves in…this is it… [Snyder] is a refreshing voice… [and] every chapter is rich with apercu… Every sentence smacks of careful thought, engaged concern, and urgency

fascinating read

This is a very important book, for all who want a better understanding what the goals of the current Russian administration are, look no further!

Very dense but also accessible

A rather complex but accessible web of the way Russia attempts to exert influence around the world through disinformation. Clearly well researched, thoughtfully presented and just downright fascinating. The one thing that I keep pondering is how many are unwillingly made to carry out this agenda vs who is aware.

Well performed although some of the German words were clearly off but not that many in here and it did not grate.

Very interesting and very well presented.