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Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary
On December 29, 2019, historian Timothy Snyder fell gravely ill. Unable to stand, barely able to think, he waited for hours in an emergency room before being correctly diagnosed and rushed into surgery. Over the next few days, as he clung to life and the first light of a new year came through his window, he found himself reflecting on the fragility of health, not recognized in America as a human right but without which all rights and freedoms have no meaning.
And that was before the pandemic. We have since watched American hospitals, long understaffed and undersupplied, buckling under waves of coronavirus patients. The federal government made matters worse through willful ignorance, misinformation, and profiteering. Our system of commercial medicine failed the ultimate test, and thousands of Americans died.
In this eye-opening cri de coeur, Snyder traces the societal forces that led us here and outlines the lessons we must learn to survive. In examining some of the darkest moments of recent history and of his own life, Snyder finds glimmers of hope and principles that could lead us out of our current malaise. Only by enshrining healthcare as a human right, elevating the authority of doctors and medical knowledge, and planning for our children's future can we create an America where everyone is truly free.
And that was before the pandemic. We have since watched American hospitals, long understaffed and undersupplied, buckling under waves of coronavirus patients. The federal government made matters worse through willful ignorance, misinformation, and profiteering. Our system of commercial medicine failed the ultimate test, and thousands of Americans died.
In this eye-opening cri de coeur, Snyder traces the societal forces that led us here and outlines the lessons we must learn to survive. In examining some of the darkest moments of recent history and of his own life, Snyder finds glimmers of hope and principles that could lead us out of our current malaise. Only by enshrining healthcare as a human right, elevating the authority of doctors and medical knowledge, and planning for our children's future can we create an America where everyone is truly free.
179 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2020
About the author
Timothy Snyder
63 books3,968 followersTimothy Snyder is Housum Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences. He received his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1997, where he was a British Marshall Scholar. He has held fellowships in Paris, Vienna, and Warsaw, and an Academy Scholarship at Harvard.
His most recent book is Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, published in September 2015 by Crown Books. He is author also of Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), a history of Nazi and Soviet mass killing on the lands between Berlin and Moscow. A New York Times bestseller and a book of the year according to The Atlantic, The Independent, The Financial Times, the Telegraph, and the New Statesman, it has won twelve awards including the Emerson Prize in the Humanities, a Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Leipzig Award for European Understanding, and the Hannah Arendt Prize in Political Thought.
His other award-winning publications include Nationalism, Marxism, and Modern Central Europe: A Biography of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz (1998); The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999 (2003); Sketches from a Secret War: A Polish Artist's Mission to Liberate Soviet Ukraine (2005); The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of A Habsburg Archduke (2008), and Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010).
Snyder helped Tony Judt to compose a thematic history of political ideas and intellectuals in politics, Thinking the Twentieth Century (2012). He is also the co-editor of Stalin and Europe: Terror, War, Domination and Wall Around the West: State Power and Immigration Controls in Europe and North America (2001).
Snyder was the recipient of an inaugural Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2015. He is a member of the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and sits on the advisory council of the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research Research.
He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in modern East European political history.
His most recent book is Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, published in September 2015 by Crown Books. He is author also of Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), a history of Nazi and Soviet mass killing on the lands between Berlin and Moscow. A New York Times bestseller and a book of the year according to The Atlantic, The Independent, The Financial Times, the Telegraph, and the New Statesman, it has won twelve awards including the Emerson Prize in the Humanities, a Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Leipzig Award for European Understanding, and the Hannah Arendt Prize in Political Thought.
His other award-winning publications include Nationalism, Marxism, and Modern Central Europe: A Biography of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz (1998); The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999 (2003); Sketches from a Secret War: A Polish Artist's Mission to Liberate Soviet Ukraine (2005); The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of A Habsburg Archduke (2008), and Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010).
Snyder helped Tony Judt to compose a thematic history of political ideas and intellectuals in politics, Thinking the Twentieth Century (2012). He is also the co-editor of Stalin and Europe: Terror, War, Domination and Wall Around the West: State Power and Immigration Controls in Europe and North America (2001).
Snyder was the recipient of an inaugural Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2015. He is a member of the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and sits on the advisory council of the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research Research.
He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in modern East European political history.
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December 15, 2020
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book via netgalley!
This is the second book I read by this author. And another book that hits it right where our society is hurting. This book explains that there is a clear malady in our society in regards to our health care system. It explains how it can be fixed with simple concepts. The author clearly and simply explain everything making it easy for readers to grasp and understand the ailments of our society and how to fix it.
Glad the author recovered from his own close encounter with the Heath care system!
This is the second book I read by this author. And another book that hits it right where our society is hurting. This book explains that there is a clear malady in our society in regards to our health care system. It explains how it can be fixed with simple concepts. The author clearly and simply explain everything making it easy for readers to grasp and understand the ailments of our society and how to fix it.
Glad the author recovered from his own close encounter with the Heath care system!
Read
September 11, 2020Я - людина проста: бачу нову книжку Тімоті Снайдера - купую нову книжку Тімоті Снайдера.
Есей-витяг із книжки, який дає добре уявлення про текст, можна прочитати на New York Review of Books.
У грудні 2019 року Снайдер звертається до лікаря, бо в нього болить живіт. Він не привчений скаржитися, тож лікар вирішує, що нічого серйозного не відбувається. За тиждень по тому виявляється, що це взагалі-то був апендицит - коли Снайдер потрапляє в лікарню вже з розривом апендикса. Врешті його виписують, але ще за тиждень по тому виявляється, що виписали зарано, бо нагромаджуються інші симптоми: але лікарі вже в третій лікарні не можуть з'ясувати, що діється. Ще за тиждень при черговій госпіталізації виявляється, що від апендициту почалися запальні процеси в печінці, а отже, на Снайдера чекають тривалі медичні поневіряння (де зокрема фігурує сусід за палатою, який щойно повернувся з Китаю з загадковими легеневими симптомами, якими щедро ділиться зі Снайдером: це до того, як коронавірус став усіхньою спільною проблемою). Але коли це все ще було попереду, у першу ніч госпіталізації з сепсисом, лежачи між життям і смертю, Снайдер думає про перетини своїх професійних зацікавлень зі ��воїм досвідом, лютує на смертність ("the rage was pure me, my wish to be a sound not an echo, to compose not decompose") - і так постає ця книжка, "because my own malaise has meaning only insofar as it helps me understand our broader malady".
Книжка про:
* перетини між демократією й системою охорони здоров'я (скажімо: "When everyone has access to decent care at minimal cost, as is true for almost all of the developed world, it is easier to see fellow citizens as equal. Part of our malady is that there is nothing in our country, not even life and not even death, where we take the proposition that “all men are created equal” seriously");
* риторичне маніпулювання хворобами в недемократичних режимах (скажімо, зображення цілих "небажаних" груп як джерела зарази - наприклад, Гітлер описував євреїв як "расовий туберкульоз");
* особливості системи охорони здоров'я в недемократичних режимах (скажімо, досвід гулагу й нацистських таборів, де найздоровіші могли розраховувати на певну допомогу, адже з них ще можна було витиснути певний період продуктивної праці, а хворі були приречені - "When concern for human dignity and human life is absent, all that matters is the labor that can be extracted") і те, як це перетинається з американською системою охорони здоров'я з усією її специфікою - від расизму до домінування ринкової логіки над медичною;
* проблеми з американською страховою системою охорони здоров'я ("We would like to think we have health care that incidentally involves some wealth transfer; what we actually have is wealth transfer that incidentally involves some health care"). Попри те, що медицина у США дорожча, ніж у більшості інших країн, якість у неї спірна: середня тривалість життя у США менша, ніж у більшості розвинутих європейських країн, Японії, Південній Кореї, Ізраїлі, Лівані, Коста-Ріці, Чілі; смертність серед афроамериканських немовлят вища, ніж серед новонароджених в Албанії, Казахстані, Китаї чи Білорусі. І проблема не в відсутності техніки чи знань, а в тому, що в інших країнах краща система.
*особливо пекельним прикладом того, як не дуже вдала система охорони здоров'я поєднується з недемократичним режимом, є реакція американського уряду на коронавірус. Американські лікарні, облаштовані за ринковою логікою, не готові до епідемії. Трамп, якого імідж цікавить більше, ніж життя громадян, несе брєд (уже влітку стверджує, що “by doing all this testing, we make ourselves look bad,” а тому проблему легко порішать: “If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any”) Результат? 7 американських округів з найвищою смертністю від ковіду "would now rank among the top twenty countries". Тощо, тощо.
"Our malady is physical illness and the political evil that surrounds it. We are ill in a way that costs us freedom, and unfree in a way that costs us health".
Есей-витяг із книжки, який дає добре уявлення про текст, можна прочитати на New York Review of Books.
У грудні 2019 року Снайдер звертається до лікаря, бо в нього болить живіт. Він не привчений скаржитися, тож лікар вирішує, що нічого серйозного не відбувається. За тиждень по тому виявляється, що це взагалі-то був апендицит - коли Снайдер потрапляє в лікарню вже з розривом апендикса. Врешті його виписують, але ще за тиждень по тому виявляється, що виписали зарано, бо нагромаджуються інші симптоми: але лікарі вже в третій лікарні не можуть з'ясувати, що діється. Ще за тиждень при черговій госпіталізації виявляється, що від апендициту почалися запальні процеси в печінці, а отже, на Снайдера чекають тривалі медичні поневіряння (де зокрема фігурує сусід за палатою, який щойно повернувся з Китаю з загадковими легеневими симптомами, якими щедро ділиться зі Снайдером: це до того, як коронавірус став усіхньою спільною проблемою). Але коли це все ще було попереду, у першу ніч госпіталізації з сепсисом, лежачи між життям і смертю, Снайдер думає про перетини своїх професійних зацікавлень зі ��воїм досвідом, лютує на смертність ("the rage was pure me, my wish to be a sound not an echo, to compose not decompose") - і так постає ця книжка, "because my own malaise has meaning only insofar as it helps me understand our broader malady".
Книжка про:
* перетини між демократією й системою охорони здоров'я (скажімо: "When everyone has access to decent care at minimal cost, as is true for almost all of the developed world, it is easier to see fellow citizens as equal. Part of our malady is that there is nothing in our country, not even life and not even death, where we take the proposition that “all men are created equal” seriously");
* риторичне маніпулювання хворобами в недемократичних режимах (скажімо, зображення цілих "небажаних" груп як джерела зарази - наприклад, Гітлер описував євреїв як "расовий туберкульоз");
* особливості системи охорони здоров'я в недемократичних режимах (скажімо, досвід гулагу й нацистських таборів, де найздоровіші могли розраховувати на певну допомогу, адже з них ще можна було витиснути певний період продуктивної праці, а хворі були приречені - "When concern for human dignity and human life is absent, all that matters is the labor that can be extracted") і те, як це перетинається з американською системою охорони здоров'я з усією її специфікою - від расизму до домінування ринкової логіки над медичною;
* проблеми з американською страховою системою охорони здоров'я ("We would like to think we have health care that incidentally involves some wealth transfer; what we actually have is wealth transfer that incidentally involves some health care"). Попри те, що медицина у США дорожча, ніж у більшості інших країн, якість у неї спірна: середня тривалість життя у США менша, ніж у більшості розвинутих європейських країн, Японії, Південній Кореї, Ізраїлі, Лівані, Коста-Ріці, Чілі; смертність серед афроамериканських немовлят вища, ніж серед новонароджених в Албанії, Казахстані, Китаї чи Білорусі. І проблема не в відсутності техніки чи знань, а в тому, що в інших країнах краща система.
*особливо пекельним прикладом того, як не дуже вдала система охорони здоров'я поєднується з недемократичним режимом, є реакція американського уряду на коронавірус. Американські лікарні, облаштовані за ринковою логікою, не готові до епідемії. Трамп, якого імідж цікавить більше, ніж життя громадян, несе брєд (уже влітку стверджує, що “by doing all this testing, we make ourselves look bad,” а тому проблему легко порішать: “If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any”) Результат? 7 американських округів з найвищою смертністю від ковіду "would now rank among the top twenty countries". Тощо, тощо.
"Our malady is physical illness and the political evil that surrounds it. We are ill in a way that costs us freedom, and unfree in a way that costs us health".
October 14, 2020
Any discussion of the American health care system raises my blood pressure. I know this because I was discussing something that my insurance company wouldn’t cover with a nurse one time while she was taking my blood pressure. This book is so timely and something I think everyone should read.
September 2, 2020
Originally published on my book blog, TheBibliophage.com.
Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary by Timothy Snyder is just under 200 pages. While it’s not long, it covers topics we all face daily whether we know it or not—our health and freedom. A Yale professor, historian, and writer, Snyder was not well at the end of 2019. He made multiple visits to Emergency Departments in various hospitals in the U.S. and Europe.
This treatise is both memoir and thoughtful discussion about the intersection of medicine, health, and politics. First, Snyder introduces the term malady. It’s not a part of most people’s general vocabulary but the definition is simple. It’s either a disease of the body or a general disordered condition, especially of a society or group.
So, you can have a disease like appendicitis (as Snyder did) and also live in a society with a malfunctioning and disadvantageous health care system. Add to that the way politics is embroiled in health care and thus encroaches on our freedom to be physically well. Stir the topics together and you’ve got the basic premise of this book.
Personal memoir
Snyder’s own tale of medical woes is a scary one. Because he’s traveling for other reasons, he bounces from hospital to hospital. In the U.S., his doctors are overworked and have approximately two minutes to meet and treat him. While some of his health issues are properly diagnosed and treated, not everything is addressed. So, the resulting complications become life-threatening.
Snyder compares this experience to his previous ones in European hospitals and doctor’s offices. In countries where medicine isn’t a for-profit endeavor, the care is remarkably different than where it’s about profit. Doctors spend time discussing not just your current concern but your life in general. They show genuine concern. Mothers spend more time in the hospital after giving birth. They have support while they learn to nurse their babes, among other things.
During his extended recovery, Snyder confronts his own mortality. And then he starts thinking about why the United States does medicine the way it does.
Health care in the U.S. versus freedom
Because of his illness, Snyder realizes that health and freedom are intertwined. If we have our health, we are free to do many more things. We feel secure in our lives and the world around us. In Snyder’s mind, tying politics to health care increases pain, suffering, and death. Requiring that profits sustain the system only help the few at the top, while hurting the rest of us. Instead, he says, gaining security and health should be the goal. But that’s not how our system works. And it’s only getting worse as time passes.
Written as the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up, Our Malady also discusses the overall failures to manage it effectively. Thinking about freedom as a country facing 1,000 deaths a day, with continual outbreaks and quarantines seems obvious. Our health care system and our society center on individualism not on collective solidarity, as Snyder sees it. And this is doing us a disservice, both as citizens and as a country.
Drawing connections to history
Snyder’s historical speciality is Central and Eastern Europe and the Holocaust. So, when he includes illustrations from history they’re chilling. For example, when the Nazi regime forced Jews into ghettos, they also cut off their access to health care. And then the malady increased as propaganda told Germans and tourists that Jews spread disease.
Overall, the twentieth century is full of frightening examples where regimes treat health as a privilege instead of a right. It’s typical of the authoritarian mindset, and the antithesis of actual health, security, and well-being. Snyder posits that this puts pain (for many) and wealth (for a few) before health. And politicians or businesses who guard their own purse before their fellow citizens aren’t offering freedom. They’re offering tyranny.
My conclusions
I’ve highlighted many passages in my advance copy ebook. I wish I could share more of them with you, but it’s not possible until the book is final and published. Snyder takes complex concepts and blends them with examples. That makes it easier to follow and absorb. But his words are strong. He’s not afraid to put himself out there and make clear that this path is dangerous. Like his previous books, Our Malady is a cautionary tale.
I recommend this to anyone whose primary political campaign issue is health care. It’s mine. And now I have more ways to argue my points with people who see things differently. I’m grateful Snyder gathered his thoughts while his body was healing, so that hopefully we can use them to heal the U.S. healthcare malady.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and the author the opportunity to read a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for this honest review. Publication date is September 8, 2020.
Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary by Timothy Snyder is just under 200 pages. While it’s not long, it covers topics we all face daily whether we know it or not—our health and freedom. A Yale professor, historian, and writer, Snyder was not well at the end of 2019. He made multiple visits to Emergency Departments in various hospitals in the U.S. and Europe.
This treatise is both memoir and thoughtful discussion about the intersection of medicine, health, and politics. First, Snyder introduces the term malady. It’s not a part of most people’s general vocabulary but the definition is simple. It’s either a disease of the body or a general disordered condition, especially of a society or group.
So, you can have a disease like appendicitis (as Snyder did) and also live in a society with a malfunctioning and disadvantageous health care system. Add to that the way politics is embroiled in health care and thus encroaches on our freedom to be physically well. Stir the topics together and you’ve got the basic premise of this book.
Personal memoir
Snyder’s own tale of medical woes is a scary one. Because he’s traveling for other reasons, he bounces from hospital to hospital. In the U.S., his doctors are overworked and have approximately two minutes to meet and treat him. While some of his health issues are properly diagnosed and treated, not everything is addressed. So, the resulting complications become life-threatening.
Snyder compares this experience to his previous ones in European hospitals and doctor’s offices. In countries where medicine isn’t a for-profit endeavor, the care is remarkably different than where it’s about profit. Doctors spend time discussing not just your current concern but your life in general. They show genuine concern. Mothers spend more time in the hospital after giving birth. They have support while they learn to nurse their babes, among other things.
During his extended recovery, Snyder confronts his own mortality. And then he starts thinking about why the United States does medicine the way it does.
Health care in the U.S. versus freedom
Because of his illness, Snyder realizes that health and freedom are intertwined. If we have our health, we are free to do many more things. We feel secure in our lives and the world around us. In Snyder’s mind, tying politics to health care increases pain, suffering, and death. Requiring that profits sustain the system only help the few at the top, while hurting the rest of us. Instead, he says, gaining security and health should be the goal. But that’s not how our system works. And it’s only getting worse as time passes.
Written as the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up, Our Malady also discusses the overall failures to manage it effectively. Thinking about freedom as a country facing 1,000 deaths a day, with continual outbreaks and quarantines seems obvious. Our health care system and our society center on individualism not on collective solidarity, as Snyder sees it. And this is doing us a disservice, both as citizens and as a country.
Drawing connections to history
Snyder’s historical speciality is Central and Eastern Europe and the Holocaust. So, when he includes illustrations from history they’re chilling. For example, when the Nazi regime forced Jews into ghettos, they also cut off their access to health care. And then the malady increased as propaganda told Germans and tourists that Jews spread disease.
Overall, the twentieth century is full of frightening examples where regimes treat health as a privilege instead of a right. It’s typical of the authoritarian mindset, and the antithesis of actual health, security, and well-being. Snyder posits that this puts pain (for many) and wealth (for a few) before health. And politicians or businesses who guard their own purse before their fellow citizens aren’t offering freedom. They’re offering tyranny.
My conclusions
I’ve highlighted many passages in my advance copy ebook. I wish I could share more of them with you, but it’s not possible until the book is final and published. Snyder takes complex concepts and blends them with examples. That makes it easier to follow and absorb. But his words are strong. He’s not afraid to put himself out there and make clear that this path is dangerous. Like his previous books, Our Malady is a cautionary tale.
I recommend this to anyone whose primary political campaign issue is health care. It’s mine. And now I have more ways to argue my points with people who see things differently. I’m grateful Snyder gathered his thoughts while his body was healing, so that hopefully we can use them to heal the U.S. healthcare malady.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and the author the opportunity to read a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for this honest review. Publication date is September 8, 2020.
December 30, 2020
Прочитав за два присяди. Дуже нетипова книжка від Снайдера. Початок приголомшливий. Сильна сторона книги - в її емоційності, але й слабкість цієї книги в її емоційності. Найцікавіше було читати про медичну систему США і лікарні Відня.
September 16, 2020
Read this. Then, join the fight for universal health care. Our malady is grave and curable.
January 6, 2021
Some books gently tap you on the shoulder to remind you of something important. Some shout it in your ear. Then Timothy Snyder comes along and obliterates you with a bullet train. All in a scant 190 pages! Essential reading from one of the most important minds of our time.
April 3, 2021
«Річ не в тому, що інші країни мають кращі знання чи кращих лікарів. Річ у тому, що вони мають кращі системи»
Книга-біль, книга-крик, книга-‘зрада’. Книга, яку варто було б писати з холодною головою.
Чи поспішив автор видати книгу? Мені саме так і здалося, бо не вистачило ґрунтовнішого дослідження теми. Вона вимагає цього так само, як і читач, що раптом стикається з такою емоційною критикою американської системи охорони здоров’я.
Книга-біль, книга-крик, книга-‘зрада’. Книга, яку варто було б писати з холодною головою.
Чи поспішив автор видати книгу? Мені саме так і здалося, бо не вистачило ґрунтовнішого дослідження теми. Вона вимагає цього так само, як і читач, що раптом стикається з такою емоційною критикою американської системи охорони здоров’я.
October 11, 2020
A sinister, twisted and fallacious argument of how only total control can bring an individual freedom, think the freedom of a Borg individual to choose the hour on the set day to change its government-chosen oil, by a hive approved technician.
Sure, in the last century and a half there have been many attempts to explain how health care is a right. Meaning if it's your right, it means it is somebody else's obligation to give it to you. And that somebody are the medical professionals who become slaves because you, the entitled middle class wielding a voting right, want it. For Snyder freedom begins with enslaving other beings. A more politically correct argument than talking how the poor white men and women of the American South can't be free unless there are black slaves to cook them a proper dinner.
And, of course, Snyder does not stop at slavery. Snyder has far bigger plans. Like more government control and bureaucrats to micromanage your life in detail. And it all boils down to a deep hatred of Humanity. After all people seem too stupid to run their own lives, and only a government-approved committee can lead the cattle to a healthier, more productive life. And that is what Snyder would call Liberty.
Sure, in the last century and a half there have been many attempts to explain how health care is a right. Meaning if it's your right, it means it is somebody else's obligation to give it to you. And that somebody are the medical professionals who become slaves because you, the entitled middle class wielding a voting right, want it. For Snyder freedom begins with enslaving other beings. A more politically correct argument than talking how the poor white men and women of the American South can't be free unless there are black slaves to cook them a proper dinner.
And, of course, Snyder does not stop at slavery. Snyder has far bigger plans. Like more government control and bureaucrats to micromanage your life in detail. And it all boils down to a deep hatred of Humanity. After all people seem too stupid to run their own lives, and only a government-approved committee can lead the cattle to a healthier, more productive life. And that is what Snyder would call Liberty.
March 28, 2021
Short version: There is no liberty without health, there is no health without solidarity, there is no solidarity without trust, there is no trust without correct information.
A very American book, to the point where I'm puzzled why this was even (badly) translated into Swedish. Both in the sense that it explicitly deals with the US healthcare system (with others mostly reduced to a few personal anecdotes), and in the way it keeps coming back to the good ol' keywords about liberty and founding fathers and yada yada, but also in how damn individualistic it is; while Snyder offers a lot of sources at the end, there's almost something reluctant to them; he wants the reader to see this as a personal story, rising from one man's anger at his brushes with both near-deadly conditions and the covid epidemic and how poorly they were handled, and even though he argues at length for caring about each other, there are no voices but Snyder's own here. And as well-read as he clearly is, and as well-meaning his goal is, it comes across just a little too much at times like listening to that one cab driver who has figured everything out.
A very American book, to the point where I'm puzzled why this was even (badly) translated into Swedish. Both in the sense that it explicitly deals with the US healthcare system (with others mostly reduced to a few personal anecdotes), and in the way it keeps coming back to the good ol' keywords about liberty and founding fathers and yada yada, but also in how damn individualistic it is; while Snyder offers a lot of sources at the end, there's almost something reluctant to them; he wants the reader to see this as a personal story, rising from one man's anger at his brushes with both near-deadly conditions and the covid epidemic and how poorly they were handled, and even though he argues at length for caring about each other, there are no voices but Snyder's own here. And as well-read as he clearly is, and as well-meaning his goal is, it comes across just a little too much at times like listening to that one cab driver who has figured everything out.
September 22, 2020
Timothy Snyder wrote On Tyranny, one of the most terrifying nonfiction books I've ever read.
Our Malady is as compelling as On Tyranny, but much more intimate. It describes Snyder's sudden illness and misdiagnosis by doctors, first in Germany and then in the U.S. He also offers his perspective on the U.S.' dysfunctional corporate-focused healthcare system and how it complicates effectively reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is a short book (the audiobook is only about 3 hours long) and profoundly personal. Recommended.
Our Malady is as compelling as On Tyranny, but much more intimate. It describes Snyder's sudden illness and misdiagnosis by doctors, first in Germany and then in the U.S. He also offers his perspective on the U.S.' dysfunctional corporate-focused healthcare system and how it complicates effectively reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is a short book (the audiobook is only about 3 hours long) and profoundly personal. Recommended.
December 11, 2020
Yale historian Snyder writes about his bout with appendicitis and the errors at three different hospitals in two countries that left him with an undiagnosed, nearly fatal sepsis just as the Covid pandemic was beginning. It's a fascinating story, and he uses it to muse about how deficient American healthcare is, how we need to reconceptualize it, how its failures make us unfree. There are all sorts of beautiful ideas here. But he's wrong when he claims that in the U.S. "implants are essentially unregulated." Of course, the FDA regulates medical implants.
April 2, 2023
Unexpectedly eloquent this is a five star pamphlet for the intended audience, but the experience was only above average for a jaundiced janitor with existential impairment.
Snyder nearly died from an undiagnosed condition just before the pandemic. His ordeal delineated many of the failures of the American health care system.He may have had Covid then but of course there wasn’t available testing. He kept a diary during his hospitalization and such engendered this book.
Going to give this to a friend’s daughter, she’s a nurse who was put at risk by the systematic shortcomings.
Snyder nearly died from an undiagnosed condition just before the pandemic. His ordeal delineated many of the failures of the American health care system.He may have had Covid then but of course there wasn’t available testing. He kept a diary during his hospitalization and such engendered this book.
Going to give this to a friend’s daughter, she’s a nurse who was put at risk by the systematic shortcomings.
October 20, 2020
Snyder is an accomplished historian who has devoted his career to looking at topics such as the Holocaust, the Soviet State, and other forms of tyranny and repression. In this extended essay, he looks at issues with the American healthcare system with both a professional lens as an expert on issues of a state/government and how it treats its' citizens as well as a personal lens as a patient who was seriously ill and struggled to get the needed care. His personal experiences added a level of humanity and a touchpoint to his perspective - as a reader, I could connect with the personal experiences he was sharing as well as consider intellectually the point he was making. He has lived for extended periods both in the US and in other countries and the comparison between the systems in each is striking. It definitely made me stop and reflect on how many things we just accept because it is the only way we have seen the system operate rather than to challenge the system and work towards more effective solutions.
May 18, 2021
Americký historik Timothy Snyder sa na svojej pomerne bolestnej skúsenosti z prelomu rokov 2019 a 2020 zamýšľa nad systémom zdravotného poistenia a zdravotnej starostlivosti v USA a v jednej kapitole ho porovnáva aj so systémom, ktorý zažil v Rakúsku, vo Viedni. Z pomerne "banálnej" operácie slepého čreva sa u Snydera stal doslova boj o život kvôli zanedbaniu diagnostiky.
" Sme nemocní tak, že nás to stojí slobodu, a neslobodní tak, že nás to stojí peniaze. ...Sloboda je o každom z nás a nikto nie je slobodný bez pomoci niekoho iného."
" Sme nemocní tak, že nás to stojí slobodu, a neslobodní tak, že nás to stojí peniaze. ...Sloboda je o každom z nás a nikto nie je slobodný bez pomoci niekoho iného."
September 23, 2020
The most important book I've read all year. If you are living in the US, read it, now, then act on it.
May 8, 2021
Vraciam sa k tejto knihe opäť v nemocnici; na malom priestore je v nej totiž nahustených toľko osobných skúseností, konštruktívnej kritiky (rôznych) zdravotných systémov, zasadenia do celkového kontextu, presahu do politiky a vôbec všeobecne platných spoločenských mechanizmov, že je to obdivuhodné.
"Byť slobodný znamená byť citlivý k záujmom niekoho iného a k tomu, čo dotyčný potrebuje, aby ich naplnil. Uvažovanie o obmedzeniach života pod tlakom vyžaduje schopnosť preciťovať, pomenovať a ovládať emócie. Sloboda súvisí s možnosťou voľby, no môžeme si vyberať len medzi možnosťami, ktoré vidíme. Ak sme v zajatí strachu, vidíme všetko v binárnych pojmoch: my alebo oni, boj alebo útek."
"Byť slobodný znamená byť citlivý k záujmom niekoho iného a k tomu, čo dotyčný potrebuje, aby ich naplnil. Uvažovanie o obmedzeniach života pod tlakom vyžaduje schopnosť preciťovať, pomenovať a ovládať emócie. Sloboda súvisí s možnosťou voľby, no môžeme si vyberať len medzi možnosťami, ktoré vidíme. Ak sme v zajatí strachu, vidíme všetko v binárnych pojmoch: my alebo oni, boj alebo útek."
July 12, 2020
Illuminating, impassioned, and highly depressing. Timothy Snyder writes about public and private health through the lens of his own near-disastrous experience with modern American healthcare. He writes with clarity about the harm that for-profit healthcare has on Americans, both as individuals and as a society; he even offers a prescription for the type of care that could improve our lives. The depressing part is that I don’t think America has the will to make it happen.
September 19, 2020
Here Timothy Snyder uses his own very recent, very near-death medical experience as a starting point for deep considerations of most of the United States' current woes. Especially: the flirtation with authoritarianism; our upside down for-profit medical care "industry"; and all too prevelant perverted ideas of democracy and fairness. Much more personal and intimate - and therefore more powerful - than anything else I've read by him.
January 4, 2021
Like many readers, I became aware of Tim Snyder through his manifesto On Tyranny, which was published right after Trump's election. This book is very similar. It's a short, succinct call to action to resolve the problems in our country. But whereas the first was about the creeping authoritarianism he saw rising with the Trump administration, this is about inequities in our medical delivery system.
The book begins with the author's own medical crisis. He almost died of sepsis, which was misdiagnosed mainly because doctors and nurses don't have the time to spend talking to patients. Patients are mere cogs in a wheel, symptoms are to be read off a checklist on a computer screen, and hospitals prioritize profits over health.
Snyder makes an excellent case for single payer insurance, contrasting the American for-profit system with the socialized medicine of European countries. The one criticism I have is the detail he went into over the mismanagement of the Coronavirus in America. Since we're still living through it, those details felt unnecessary, but perhaps, if the book outlives the virus, future readers will need those reminders. Having said that, I still recommend the book. It won't take you long, and it's full of information that's key to all our lives.
For a dark comic look at the same subject, try this movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12856390/. That's my dream team. The historian and the comic take on the medical system until more Americans get behind Bernie Sanders' plan.
The book begins with the author's own medical crisis. He almost died of sepsis, which was misdiagnosed mainly because doctors and nurses don't have the time to spend talking to patients. Patients are mere cogs in a wheel, symptoms are to be read off a checklist on a computer screen, and hospitals prioritize profits over health.
Snyder makes an excellent case for single payer insurance, contrasting the American for-profit system with the socialized medicine of European countries. The one criticism I have is the detail he went into over the mismanagement of the Coronavirus in America. Since we're still living through it, those details felt unnecessary, but perhaps, if the book outlives the virus, future readers will need those reminders. Having said that, I still recommend the book. It won't take you long, and it's full of information that's key to all our lives.
For a dark comic look at the same subject, try this movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12856390/. That's my dream team. The historian and the comic take on the medical system until more Americans get behind Bernie Sanders' plan.
January 17, 2021
3+ Snyder is always enjoyable and interesting to read, also here. This is not On Tyranny, though. Both are slight volumes on topical issues, but while On Tyranny is very focused and coherent, Our Malady is a bit all over the place: Snyder’s own illness, the US health care system, the pandemic. I think it would have worked better in a longer analysis of the US and health, with personal experiences serving as a framing device or inspiration. As it stands, the book feels rushed, I suspect because there is a demand for coronalit - Krastev’s Is it Tomorrow Yet? also suffers from a similar problem, but less, as it’s more focussed. It is also very US-centric when it comes to the problems it tackles, which could be a plus for many, but in this case not for me. I am already very familiar with the European single payer healthcare systems and also don’t need to be convinced that the American system is insane. The book’s heart is in the right place, however, and there are much worse and less enlightening ways to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday.
December 10, 2020
A short, simple, heartfelt, but profound read that is so timely. Snyder, after a life-threatening illness and a hospital stay right before the coronavirus pandemic began, connects all of the dots between families and parenting, the United States government and its abdication of responsibility for its citizens, and the lack of meaningful support and structure for healthcare workers and hospital systems whose employers are more concerned with profit margins and algorithms than people. He also makes wise connections between healthcare and freedom and democracy; his indictment of our current leadership is accurate, and not at all subtle. A must-read, given that this country has just passed the once-unthinkable total of over 3,000 deaths per day.
I both listened and read and the narration, done by the author, is excellent.
I both listened and read and the narration, done by the author, is excellent.
September 14, 2020
Reading this book and any of Dr. Snyder's books ("On Tyranny"; "The Road to Unfreedom") would be in your own and this country's (this world's) best interests. Through examining his own recent and nearly deadly illness, he explains how lack of adequate and appropriate health care for all is related to freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (and our loss and acceptance of it). We are a country run by corporate greed and no where is it more evident that in the "business" of health care. I am a new Medicare participant and I can really relate to descriptions in the the book about medicine that is prompted by algorithms instead of human contact and interaction. Rules, rates and rejections instead of needs, knowledge and discovery. Take an hour and read this book.
April 14, 2021
Pocas citania som zazivala neskutocny pocit bezmocnosti.
March 30, 2021
Ze wszystkim w tym eseju Snydera się zgadzam: USA to nie jest kraj ludzi wolnych ani równych; opieka zdrowotna to podstawowe prawo człowieka, a nie przywilej, dlatego nie może ona podlegać regułom wolnego rynku, bo to przepis na katastrofę; opieka zdrowotna traktowana jako przywilej to sytuacja, która demoralizuje i zabija; rodzicielstwo to ciężka praca polegająca na opiece nad kimś całkowicie od ciebie zależnym, dlatego rodzice muszą być systemowo wspierani za pomocą odpowiedniej infrastruktury, urlopów rodzicielskich itd.; media społecznościowe zabijają dziennikarstwo; Trump był złym prezydentem. No ale jednocześnie myślałam sobie cały czas, że no kurde, Snyder, serio musiałeś prawie umrzeć na sepsę, żeby do tego wszystkiego dojść? Ile ty masz lat? Pięć?
Co nie zmienia faktu, że jest to klarowny wywód i jak ktoś ma wątpliwości co do którejś z wyżej wymienionych kwestii (a myślę, że w sumie dużo ludzi, a już szczególnie dużo ludzi w USA, nie widzi państwa opiekuńczego jako czegoś co daje wolność jednostce, tylko wręcz odwrotnie), to warto tę książkę przeczytać. Mnie po prostu nie było trzeba przekonywać i nie znalazłam tu dla siebie niczego nowego.
Co nie zmienia faktu, że jest to klarowny wywód i jak ktoś ma wątpliwości co do którejś z wyżej wymienionych kwestii (a myślę, że w sumie dużo ludzi, a już szczególnie dużo ludzi w USA, nie widzi państwa opiekuńczego jako czegoś co daje wolność jednostce, tylko wręcz odwrotnie), to warto tę książkę przeczytać. Mnie po prostu nie było trzeba przekonywać i nie znalazłam tu dla siebie niczego nowego.
February 15, 2021
Wielki amerykański historyk i politolog tym razem przychodzi opowiedzieć nam nie o traumach, które spotykały innych ludzi, ale o swoim własnym cierpieniu i dokąd doprowadziło go rozmyślanie o tym doświadczeniu.
Pod koniec 2019r. Snyder zaczął odczuwać ból brzucha. Najpierw trafił do szpitala w Niemczech, gdzie nie został zdiagnozowany i z utrzymującym się bólem wrócił do Stanów. Tam trafił do szpitala na Florydzie, gdzie usunięto mu wyrostek robaczkowy i błyskawicznie wypisano ze szpitala ignorując widoczne na zapisie USG ognisko zapalne na wątrobie. Jego samopoczucie i stan zdrowia ulegał znacznemu pogorszeniu. W ostatnich dniach grudnia w końcu z trafił do szpitala w New Haven, w okolicy swojego miejsca zamieszkania, znajdując się na granicy życia i śmierci. Podczas gdy odpływał i tracił kontakt z rzeczywistością nikt zdawał się nim zbytnio nie interesować, nikt nie przeprowadził właściwego wywiadu, był jednym z kilkudziecięciu numerków ukrytych za zasłonką, w celu postawienia diagnozy przeprowadzono mu szereg badań, których można było uniknąć gdyby tylko ktoś sprawdził dokumentację medyczną, by po kilku godzinach bez wdrożonych leków i potwornego cierpienia pacjenta zdiagnozować sepsę. Dalsze leczenie również pozostawiało wiele wątpliwości, zła opieka pooperacyjna skutkowała komplikacjami. Do tego w pokoju pojawił się drugi pacjent, który wrócił z Chin i miał dziwne objawy ze strony układu oddechowego, których lekarze nie umieli dopasować do żadnej jednostki chorobowej, a po pewnym czasie Snyder również zaczął odczuwać kaszel i duszenie, a jego płuco się zapadło. To prawdopodobnie mógł być koronawirus, którego obecność w USA była na tym etapie oficjalnie wypierana przez władze.
Podczas pobytu w szpitalu i dalszej rekonwalescencji autor prowadził dziennik, który stanowił podstawę do napisania eseju tej książki.
Króciutki esej, zaledwie 120 stron, ale przebogaty w treść i niezwykle ważny.
Z jednej strony mamy tu bardzo intymne zapiski człowieka, który boi się, że właśnie umiera i bardzo nie chce się na to zgodzić. Szczerze opisuje niemoc, własną słabość, uprzedmiotowienie i cierpienie, z którym musi się mierzyć. Analizuje i nazywa również emocje, które temu towarzyszą. Najpierw pojawia się wściekłość, która pozwala mu skupić się na sobie, poczuć siebie, skumulować siły, a potem empatia, która uświadamia mu, że jego życie nie jest tylko jego. Używa tutaj pięknej alegorii relacji międzyludzkich jako tratwy unoszącej się na falach. Jesteśmy związani z bliskimi jak kawałki drewna i płyniemy razem czasem obijając się o siebie lub o brzegi.
Pisze: „Wściekłość pozwoliła mi ujrzeć siebie samego oraz nadała mojemu ciału i umysłowi wyraźną formę po wstrząsie. Empatia z kolei umieściła mnie pośród innych. W tym nastroju to, że jestem wyjątkowy, nie było tak ważne. Ważne było, że żyję wewnątrz innych ludzi, w ich wspomnieniach i oczekiwaniach, jestem podporą w ich życiu oraz kołem ratunkowym w trudnych momentach. Skoro moje życie nie było tylko moje, to moja śmierć też nie była tylko moja”.
Świadomość tego połączona z poczuciem bezradności i bycia zdanym na bezduszny system szpitalny wywołuje ponowny napad wściekłości. Ta sinusoida towarzyszy mu podczas całego procesu zdrowienia.
Doświadczenia z pogranicza życia i śmierci skłaniają Snydera do rozważań o istocie wolności i jej związku ze zdrowiem człowieka, co w rezultacie prowadzi do ostrej krytyki amerykańskiego systemu ochrony zdrowia oraz osób, które wtedy nim zarządzały - czyli administracji Donalda Trumpa.
W kilku rozdziałach udowadnia dlaczego dostęp do publicznej opieki zdrowotnej jest podstawowym prawem człowieka, a jej brak prowadzi do wzrostu nierówności i pozwala rozwijać się rządom autorytarnym.
Jego definicja i warunek niezbędny do bycia wolnym wydają się oczywiste, ale równocześnie mało uświadomione „Być wolnym oznacza stać się sobą oraz iść przez świat zgodnie ze swoimi wartościami i pragnieniami. Każdy z nas ma prawo dążyć do szczęścia i zostawić po sobie ślad. Wolność nie jest możliwa, gdy jesteśmy zbyt chorzy, by wyobrazić sobie szczęście, i zbyt słabi, by do niego dążyć. Jest nieosiągalna, gdy brakuje nam wiedzy niezbędnej do dokonywania rzeczywistych wyborów, zwłaszcza dotyczących zdrowia.”.
Pisze o tym w jaki sposób prywatna opieka zdrowotna demoralizuje i wpływa na polepszanie warunków życia wybranych kosztem nawet śmierci niedopuszczonych do tego przywileju. Podkreśla znaczenie opieki zdrowotnej już od pierwszych momentów życia człowieka, czyli opieki okołoporodowej i okresu niemowlęcego. Przytacza wstrząsające dane: „W wypadku dzieci urodzonych w USA przez Afroamerykanki wskaźnik śmiertelności noworodków jest wyższy niż w Albanii, Kazachstanie, Chinach i mniej więcej siedemdziesięciu innych krajach. Jako całość Ameryka wypada gorzej od najbardziej sowieckiej z postsowieckich państw – Białorusi”. Porównuje doświadczenia z rodzicielstwa w Austrii i w USA, pokazując, że system europejski jest ukierunkowany na człowieka, a amerykański na rentowność i zysk. Zauważa szereg innych przewag Europy, jak holistyczne patrzenie na pacjenta i czas, który poświęcają mu lekarze. System amerykański w prosty sposób prowadzi do uzależnienia pacjentów od środków przeciwbólowych i opioidów, ponieważ lekarze nie mają czasu pochylić się z uwagą nad problemem, więc wypisują recepty. Jednocześnie całe pokolenia wychowane są w nakazie nieujawniania słabości i milczenia o bólu, co często prowadzi do sytuacji, kiedy problem zdrowotny, który był początkowo błahy, narasta do poważnych rozmiarów. Według Snydera to prosta droga do uzależnienia „Jeżeli nie ma z kim porozmawiać o bólu, gdyż nie ma innej formy opieki medycznej, będziemy nadal brać tabletki. W ten sposób normalność znoszenia bólu niezauważalnie przechodzi w normalność przyjmowania tabletek. Jedną rzeczą, która pozostaje niezmienna, jest brak ludzkiego kontaktu. Możemy przejść od milczenia o bólu do milczenia o uzależnieniu, jak uczyniły to miliony Amerykanów.”
Twierdzi on, że w ten sposób tworzy się furtka dla populistów i tyranów, którym łatwo przejąć kontrolę i sterować takim społeczeństwem. „Podwójna desperacja wynikająca z bólu i uzależnienia wpływa na nasze wybory polityczne. Ludzie, którzy mieszkali w miejscach zdewastowanych przez opioidy, głosowali na Donalda Trumpa. Liczbą, która pozwala najtrafniej zgadnąć, czy Trump wygrał, czy przegrał w danym hrabstwie w listopadzie 2016 roku, jest lokalny wskaźnik nadużywania opioidów”.
Dołóżmy do tego wściekłość, którą Ci ludzie odczuwają, a która nie znajduje ujścia w empatii i solidarności, za to jest podsycana i nawigowana przez autorytarnych polityków, udających, że ich widzą i słuchają, możemy zrozumieć czemu dokonują tak desperackich wyborów.
Brutalną manipulację autorytarnych rządów Trumpa punktuje na podstawie postępowania jego gabinetu podczas pandemii. Dramat, który rozegrał się w Stanach i tysiące niepotrzebnych śmierci były bezpośrednim wynikiem zaniechań i propagandy rządzących, którzy bardziej interesowali się słupkami i wizerunkiem, niż realną pomocą obywatelom. „Skoro prawda nas wyzwala, ludzie, którzy nas uciskają, prawdzie tej się sprzeciwiają. W wypadku każdej katastrofy, zwłaszcza spowodowanej przez nich samych, tyrani znajdą sposób, aby obwinić innych i usprawiedliwić siebie, zarazem mówiąc nam to, co chcemy usłyszeć.” Celowe zatajanie faktów i manipulowanie wynikami testów, lub nawet brak testowania miały doprowadzić do przeświadczenia opinii publicznej o tym, że wirusa nie ma, tymczasem pozwoliły mu bezkarnie rozlewać się po całym kraju. „1 lutego lekarz naczelny Stanów Zjednoczonych napisał na Twitterze rymowankę, która w wolnym tłumaczeniu na język polski mogłaby brzmieć tak: „Coś jest szorstkie / A coś śliskie / Ryzyko grypy wysokie / #koronawirusa niskie”.
Innym dowodem myślenia autorytarnego jest czynienie kozła ofiarnego z pewnej grupy - wmawianie ludziom, że są odporni, a kiedy jednak chorują przypisywanie całej odpowiedzialności za zachorowania na „innych”, kogoś z zewnątrz i podsycanie tej urazy wśród ludzi, aby odwracać uwagę od własnych zaniedbań.
Snyder podkreśla olbrzymią rolę sprawdzania faktów i dążenia do prawdy, stawiania oporu zalewowi fałszywych informacji, mówi „jeśli nie chcesz wiedzieć, prosisz, by znaleźć się w niewoli”. Negatywnie ocenia platformy społecznościowe i ich działanie antyzdrowotne - najlepiej zarabiają na biernym siedzeniu użytkownika przed ekranem. Jego zdaniem „Tym, czego zawsze potrzebujemy w demokracji i czego rozpaczliwie potrzebowaliśmy na początku 2020 roku, nie są niewidzialne duże zbiory danych, ale widoczne małe fakty: lokalne wiadomości przekazywane przez miejscowych ludzi innym miejscowym ludziom dla dobra wszystkich”. Oddaje hołd dziennikarzom i małym, miejscowym redakcjom, którzy naprawdę pracują na rzecz swoich społeczności. Podobnie jak lekarze rodzinni, którzy są niezastąpieni w pierwszym kontakcie z pacjentem, nadając mu podmiotowość, zdejmując z niego podstawowe kryterium szpitalne - opłacalności. Niestety w Stanach jedno i drugie jest w zaniku. Przede wszystkim liczy się zysk.
„W pierwszych tygodniach pandemii koronawirusa, gdy ponad dwadzieścia milionów Amerykanów straciło pracę, amerykańscy miliarderzy powiększyli swój łączny majątek o dwieście osiemdziesiąt dwa miliardy dolarów”. - tak działają oligopole, które mają w rękach całą gospodarkę Stanów i są chorobą tego kraju.
Snyder wzywa do zdrowienia, pokazuje hasłowo mnóstwo pomysłów i wszystkie najważniejsze punkty, na których należy się skoncentrować, aby dokonać zmian. Jego postulaty nie są nowe — ale w połączeniu z osobistym doświadczeniem brzmią niezwykle mocno.
Kiedy profesor pisał tę książkę nie wiedział jeszcze, że w Białym Domu nastąpi zmiana, a do rządów wrócą Demokraci. Niektórzy spośród nich nawołują do wprowadzenia publicznej opieki zdrowotnej dla wszystkich równie głośno. Ta książeczka może być świetnym zbiorem argumentów w ich rękach.
Timothy Snyder, choć jest uprzywilejowanym, białym mężczyzną o wysokiej pozycji społecznej, mógł umrzeć przez źle działający system. Znajomi pytali go czemu nie użył swoich znajomosci i koneksji, żeby leczyć się w lepszych warunkach i zmniejszyć swoje cierpienie. Nie chciał tego zrobić, chciał skorzystać ze swoich podstawowych praw, na takich zasadach jak każdy. Skończył z dziewięcioma nowymi dziurami w ciele i plikiem rachunków do zapłacenia.
Bardzo się cieszę, że przeżył i mógł wykrzyczeć swoją wściekłość i oskarżenie. Ta książka przywraca rzeczom odpowiednie priorytety, rozbudza lewicową wrażliwość i pozwala przez chwilę pomyśleć, że nie jest u nas wcale tak źle, jak lubimy narzekać, chociaż sporo naszej rzeczywistości politycznej też możemy w niej odnaleźć. Bardzo warto.
Książkę dostałam od księgarni Woblink:
https://woblink.com/ebook/amerykanska...
Ps. Jeden z podrozdziałów zaczyna się od inwokacji „Pana Tadeusza” i to nie jedyny z polskich akcentów.
March 30, 2024
Невелика книга про американську систему охорони здоров'я, яку Снайдер написав після того, як пережив пізно виявлений с��псис і операцію на печінці. Він говорить про вади комерціалізованої приватної страхової медицини, про неналежну відповідь коронавірусу від американської влади і медицини, про жахливі умови для більшості американців при народжені дитини (відсутності довгої відпустки по догляду за немовлям). Повсякчас порівнює американську систему з австрійською (в Австрії народився його первісток) на користь другої.
Крісь текст ниткою в'ється тема свободи, центральна для всіх праць Тімоті Снайдера: "Парадокс свободи в тому, що ніхто не вільний без допомоги. Свобода може бути усамітненою, але свобода вимагає солідарності. Доросла людина, яка навчилася бути вільною на самоті, у дитинстві скористалась солідарністю. Тому свобода — це позика, що надається і повертається протягом поколінь."
Крісь текст ниткою в'ється тема свободи, центральна для всіх праць Тімоті Снайдера: "Парадокс свободи в тому, що ніхто не вільний без допомоги. Свобода може бути усамітненою, але свобода вимагає солідарності. Доросла людина, яка навчилася бути вільною на самоті, у дитинстві скористалась солідарністю. Тому свобода — це позика, що надається і повертається протягом поколінь."
September 23, 2020
Timothy Snyder is a masterful historian of oppression and mass murder, especially both the Nazi and Soviet varieties. His books are well done and persuasive but also difficult to read. I have had the good fortune to see Professor Snyder present his work to a large audience and would encourage others to do so without fail. He is an intense and passionate speaker, especially about difficult topics.
“Our Malady” is a short book that Snyder has written about health care. This book is an expansion of his hospital diary that he kept during a recent medical crisis. It is a short book so I will not give many details, but Professor Snyder had a medical crisis late in 2019 that spanned hospitals in Europe and the US. He managed to survive the crisis but was released around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, so he found himself with serious medical matters on his mind and a lot going on around him that involved the Health Care system. He has also read a lot and is a very quick study. This turns out to be a recipe for an informed and intense set of essays and reflections on the current state of US Health Care, the COVID-19 pandemic, US politics, and deeper matters of human rights, family, and child care. If one is familiar at all with Snyder’s writings, his orientation on these issues will come as no surprise. He is a superb writer, however, and has a lot to say, especially to those who are not health care professionals but who seek to understand and participate in the care of themselves and their loved ones at a time when economic and medical priorities seem increasingly mangled.
This is an engaging book that is a quick and rewarding read. I highly recommend it.
“Our Malady” is a short book that Snyder has written about health care. This book is an expansion of his hospital diary that he kept during a recent medical crisis. It is a short book so I will not give many details, but Professor Snyder had a medical crisis late in 2019 that spanned hospitals in Europe and the US. He managed to survive the crisis but was released around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, so he found himself with serious medical matters on his mind and a lot going on around him that involved the Health Care system. He has also read a lot and is a very quick study. This turns out to be a recipe for an informed and intense set of essays and reflections on the current state of US Health Care, the COVID-19 pandemic, US politics, and deeper matters of human rights, family, and child care. If one is familiar at all with Snyder’s writings, his orientation on these issues will come as no surprise. He is a superb writer, however, and has a lot to say, especially to those who are not health care professionals but who seek to understand and participate in the care of themselves and their loved ones at a time when economic and medical priorities seem increasingly mangled.
This is an engaging book that is a quick and rewarding read. I highly recommend it.
December 21, 2020
I enjoyed how this book touched on important issues in the world of medical facilities. It spoke about America's instability and frankly, 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 to provide care for its citizens. Meanwhile, it also speaks about the standards of hospitals worldwide, whether they be relatively bad or good. I am very thankful to the author, TImothy Snyder, for coming out with their story and speaking about their experience and treatment by doctors in multiple countries. The book opened my eyes to a new perspective on the care that doctors and nurses should, and do provide.
This may have been my nonexistent level of intellectuality, but I felt that this book seemed to be all over the place. It seemed that the writing covered multiple topics at once, when the book could easily have been a little longer to provide a more meaningful insight into the author's thoughts. I wish their writing/thoughts were more cohesive, or that the book followed a different organizational system.
"Our Malady" is not something that I can exactly rate in numbers, but this was an interesting look into the collective struggle we face and how highly we are and could be impacted by our surroundings/peers.
This may have been my nonexistent level of intellectuality, but I felt that this book seemed to be all over the place. It seemed that the writing covered multiple topics at once, when the book could easily have been a little longer to provide a more meaningful insight into the author's thoughts. I wish their writing/thoughts were more cohesive, or that the book followed a different organizational system.
"Our Malady" is not something that I can exactly rate in numbers, but this was an interesting look into the collective struggle we face and how highly we are and could be impacted by our surroundings/peers.
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