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Born in Dayton, Ohio, Timothy Snyder (b. 1969) earned a BA from Brown University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Balliol College, Oxford University. He is currently the Levin Professor of History at Yale University, a fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, and a member of the Committee on Conscience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. His deep understanding of 20th-century Europe and the United States is evident across most of his writing. He connects various political and historical developments between different cultures. Based on his understanding of the rise and fall of communist and fascist regimes in 20th-century Europe, he sees the early indicators and symptoms of such systems in present-day political and social challenges in the United States. 

Snyder has written over a dozen books, including several best-selling nonfiction books, and published many articles. His books include The Reconstruction of Nations Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus: 1569-1999; Bloodlands: Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), which explores the millions of political killings in Eastern Europe in the 1930s and 1940s; and Thinking the Twentieth Century, which he wrote with Tony Judt. Snyder’s best known book is On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017). It consists of 20 lessons explaining what tyranny looks like and how, in Snyder’s view, democracy in the United States is at risk of sliding into it. Snyder’s lessons use examples from 20th-century Europe, specifically countries that were home to fascist or communist regimes. Snyder also published The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America  in 2018.

Next section Style & Presentation: Vignette-Based Lessons

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