The Case for Democracy

Pros 1. Sharansky is an engaging writer. He has a considerable amount of passion for the subject, which helps carry the book along (and which is also one of the cons). 2. Sharansky does a good job of providing a history of one aspect of the Cold War, the dissident movement in the East Bloc and its im......more

Natan Sharansky knows more about resisting tyranny than most, having been incarcerated in a prison of one of history's greatest tyrannies-the Soviet Union, as he illustrated in his incredible memoirs Fear No Evil: The Classic Memoir of One Man's Triumph over a Police State In this book he puts under......more

2 Though I sympathise with some of the sentiments of this book like the belief In bringing global freedom, I found the evidence outdated and many of the assumptions to be geopolically niaeve. I found the authors discussion of his time as a political prisoners in the soviet union very moving and though......more

A frustrating and simplistic book by a guy who is personally inspiring. Sharansky's main argument is essentially a less nuanced version of the democratic peace theory: democratic leaders rely on popular will to stay in power, and the people do not want wars, so democracies go to war less often. He o......more

The foundational concept of fear vs free societies is sound, but the discussion in this book is so dated as to not contribute to the argument. Would be worthwhile to update into current contexts, especially given the focus on both Russia and Israel/Palestine.......more