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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century in Books

Jan 3, 2018

READ THIS NOW!

Apologies for such a forthright command, but this pithy and punchy short book is an absolute must-read. In less than 200 pages, Timothy Snyder, a Yale chair and renowned historian, describes why our actions today matter.

Along with Burleigh and Kershaw he has exposed the monstrosities of the evil regimes ruled by Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot and other tyrants who have murdered at home and abroad. Having extensively studied both right-wing and left-wing tyrannical regimes, Snyder goes onto look at the 2016 presidential campaign and Donald Trump. "Post-truth is pre-fascism," he writes, in one of many passages that seem to cast the US as a society in a pre-fascist stage.

Snyder succinctly suggests that 20 lessons from history are invaluable if we are to avoid democracy collapsing as it did after 1918. History he agrees does not repeat but it does instruct.

In a world where truth, reality and fantasy are thrown into a huge melting pot - having a book that researched facts, presents political history and encourages the reader to make their own decisions is a liberating read.

Kudos

Smoke in the Sun: Flame in the Mist Book 2

Renee Ahdieh

8.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The highly anticipated sequel to Flame in the Mist - an addictive, sumptuous finale that will leave...

fantasy young adult

Awix (3310 KP) rated Star Cops in TV

Jul 12, 2020 (Updated Jul 12, 2020)

Star Cops

1987 | Crime, Sci-Fi

6.0

(2 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

Underrated attempt at a proper science fiction series from the BBC. In the far-off year of 2027, British copper Nathan Spring takes command of the International Space Police Force, responsible for law and order on the Moon and aboard the various space stations. Psychological and political issues prove to be as tricky as the actual crimes, though...

Clearly made on a punishingly low budget, and the vision of the future is occasionally a bit wonky from a modern perspective, but the five episodes written by series creator Chris Boucher are some of the best, most intelligent, wittiest and most cynical SF ever broadcast by the BBC. The other episodes not so much: everything gets a bit campy and there are a lot of national stereotypes on display. (Plus, the theme tune has been called the worst in TV history, and most of the incidental music is rubbish too.) Even when it's not particularly good, it's always trying to do something a bit different, and David Calder is consistently excellent as Spring. Not the first nor the last SF or fantasy show to be cut loose by the BBC before it had a chance to realise its potential.