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As always, thought provoking... audio quality poor

Reviewed: 10-05-19

I have always appreciated Malcolm Gladwell's books and enjoy his literary approach. However, this book did a kind of podcast approach which was neat but it left me frustrated at many times when he would include interviews with actual audio that was just crummy quality and made me have to turn volume all the way up and strain to hear. Did he record it with a cellphone in his jacket!? It honestly eroded the quality of the overall story for me and took away from the enjoyment of listening. It would have been nice if they put more thought into it with better audio recording if this were the original plan, makes me wonder if it was an afterthought to include original audio.

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Garbage story by sheltered author

Reviewed: 06-22-17

What disappointed you about On Tyranny?

This book is just a blatant attempt to call the President a Tyrant and relate his methods on the campaign trail to the methods of Nazi Germany and Communist nations of the past. It completely avoids real present day oppressive regimes and tyranny. It then goes on to say that censorship and illegal government spying on one's own citizens is bad for democracy (true) but omits anything about serious corruption in politics and Government. It then takes a thin stab at defending the scandals of Hillary Clinton by claiming that private conversations remain private and something about "words taken out of context" shouldn't damage people.

It's apparent that this book is completely biased and that the author has no idea what real tyrannical oppression is. Having worked overseas for a number of years, hand in hand with multiple NGOs, I can tell you that my perspective is a little more in-depth on the matter and that the author has no credibility on the subject.

I probably should have read some reviews in more depth before I hastily made the purchase but I honestly regret the 2 hours of my life wasted on this thinly veiled attempt to compare current President to Nazi Germany. In case there are no other negative reviews, please heed my advice... avoid this book and save some money.

I truly hope the author takes his own advice of getting a Passport and traveling the world to get exposure to some truly horrifying governments and regimes in multiple countries. Hopefully then he can fully appreciate what he has in America, and instead of painting one individual as a tyrant, show the story of politics in America becoming so corrupt that one doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Any additional comments?

Tim Snyder, I hope you read this review and reflect.

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1 person found this helpful

More a sales pitch for TPP than anything else

Reviewed: 02-15-17

I'd say I'm pretty versed in the dynamic political and economic arena of SE Asia since I do a lot of business in that region. This book gives a broad overview like many previous reviewers mentioned and I even liked the chapter that provides historical overview of conflict between the countries.

However, this book is just that... a broad overview. In my opinion, the author used this book as a way to sell the TPP. All in all, it was a good read that talked about the need to shift focus back to that region but it left me wanting more.

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Try another biography

Reviewed: 09-30-16

I was looking for a book that would give a more in depth account of his life. This book scratched the surface on some parts but totally glossed over portions that may have been significant to his life. No mention at all about being a Freemason. I can't trust an author that leaves out basic information like that in a biography.

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