This book has important ideas and yet at many times it feels like it simply delves into the (somewhat) personal gossip and soured relationships of the author. I learned quite a bit about the historial legacies (and latent manifestations) of authoritarianism in various countries but its gold nuggets are surrounded by inefficient prose and unconvincing anecdotes (why do I need to know that Laura Ingraham went on a bad date with Donald Trump?)

3.5 estrellas

Si algo creo que puedo decir de este libro es que desentraña un poco (sólo un poco) lo peligroso que es ser de un extremo u otro (lo que conocemos como izquierda o derecha).

Si algo puedo concluir con la lectura, esque el problema del mundo actual no es solo diferencias culturales e ideas, la democracia por sí sola no es la solución tan sencilla así como tampoco lo es el autoritarismo, sin embargo lo verdaderamente interesante y que más rescato del libro, es que a traves de la democracia se puede llegar al autoritarianismo y vivir con él por años.

Un buen "mantequillazo" si les interesa el tema

An interesting read for sure. I would recommend.

Fine. Unclear what unique insights it adds. The US analysis felt shallow and while I enjoyed the Polish and Hungarian analysis I was left wondering if I was merely ignorant to it’s similar shallowness. Still, interesting worth a couple hours.

Interesting take on current right wing politics from a current or former insider.

The most interesting parts of this book to me were when she explained just how intertwined the characters in the political world are. Other than that, it's a pretty dry take on the recent "how the right lost its mind" trend that I'm seeing lately. Maybe I've just read too many of those types of books over the last couple of years.

Applebaum is further to the right than I normally read and it was interesting to see what someone with a connection to Soviet-era anti-communism thinks about modern leftists as well as the radical conservatives who are the primary subject of the book. I of course knew about the neofascist trends in the US and UK, and to a lesser extent France, but hadn't known about how authoritarian Spain, Poland, and Hungary have become. Really interesting book for that recent historical context alone.