On Freedom by Timothy Snyder

On Freedom by Timothy Snyder offers interesting insight into the concept of freedom and how people perceive freedom. It took me several pages to really get into the book, so be patient, particularly if you're expecting, as I was, it to be similar to Snyder's book, On Tyranny. I enjoyed the play between the personal and the universal demonstrating that all of life is interconnected. He talks about how myriad people view freedom. I wanted more his mentions of his classes with prisoners. There were moments where the things that have changed since he wrote On Freedom loomed above the page teasing the words Snyder wrote. I particularly liked the concept of viewing freedom as "freedom to" rather than "freedom from" because it felt more hopeful. On Freedom argues for five forms of freedom, Sovereignty, Unpredictability, Mobility, Factuality, and Solidarity. All of which raised my skepticism a few times. Snyder is mostly convincing in his arguments and his support of those arguments. On Freedom offers a positive way of embracing freedom through Snyder's investigation of the ideas of freedom he developed over his life inviting me to investigate the ideas of freedom I've developed over mine.


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This is the last book I read in 2025, and thus this is my last review of 2025. Reviews in 2026 will be on Book Talk with TLC.


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