42 review for Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy

1. 

   4 out of 5

   Joseph Stieb – Aug 17, 2019

   Surprisingly interesting for a rather dense and old book on the concept of totalitarianism. The main purpose of the book is to describe and categorize the major traits of totalitarian states rather than explain why totalitarianism occurred. Friedrich treat totalitarianism as the extreme version of the "search for order and organization" in early 20th century socio-economic life. He makes a successful case that this is a new thing in human history both in terms of its quest for total control over Surprisingly interesting for a rather dense and old book on the concept of totalitarianism. The main purpose of the book is to describe and categorize the major traits of totalitarian states rather than explain why totalitarianism occurred. Friedrich treat totalitarianism as the extreme version of the "search for order and organization" in early 20th century socio-economic life. He makes a successful case that this is a new thing in human history both in terms of its quest for total control over human life and social/political/economic institutions as well as its use of technology and mass communications to seek a system of total control. The argument is very detailed and convincing, and the book actually isn't too long. Still, this is really only a book for someone interested in responses to/understandings of totalitarianism and/or mid 20th century social sciences.

2. 

   5 out of 5

   Kat – Oct 05, 2010

   One of the major works from the totalitarian school of Soviet history, it definitely has its flaws but cannot be totally discounted. The classic Friedrich and Brzezinski work still shaped the field for decades, and continues to have an impact.

3. 

   5 out of 5

   Ben Cullimore – Apr 26, 2018

   Despite being discounted by many contemporary scholars as both out-of-date and inflexible, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy remains a fascinating and important addition to the study of totalitarianism. First published in 1956, three years after the death of Joseph Stalin and at the height of the Cold War, Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski's influential text has come to be seen as a study tainted by partisanship and, some might say, mild hysteria. Whilst this viewpoint is understandab Despite being discounted by many contemporary scholars as both out-of-date and inflexible, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy remains a fascinating and important addition to the study of totalitarianism. First published in 1956, three years after the death of Joseph Stalin and at the height of the Cold War, Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski's influential text has come to be seen as a study tainted by partisanship and, some might say, mild hysteria. Whilst this viewpoint is understandable, and in many ways correct, it nonetheless fails to take into account the important role it played in helping to make sense of totalitarianism's unique characteristics. Today, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy is best remembered for the six-point "syndrome" posited by its authors; characteristics that are admired and criticised in equal measure. Viewing them six decades on, it is arguable that they, and the study as a whole, have more to say about the nature of Nazi Germany, Maoist China and the Soviet Union under Stalin than they do when one examines those states that Juan Linz rightly describes as being "post-totalitarian". Even though the 1965 revised edition examined the rule of Nikita Khrushchev, Friedrich and Brzezinski failed to break away from the rigid confines of their six-point syndrome, despite the fact that developments in the Soviet Union and its satellite states had resulted in a reappraisal of its merits being required. Nonetheless, it can still be argued that, in the words of Klaus Epstein, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy represented a "promising beginning" for the building of a "science of the comparative study of totalitarianism". Prior to the book's publication, "totalitarianism" was a term rarely used by social scientists, and subsequent academics (most of whom have built on the groundwork laid by Friedrich and Brzezinski) certainly owe a lot to its two authors. It is a text that should be, and is, rightly criticised, but, despite its flaws, it still deserves to be viewed as a vitally important addition to the study of totalitarian regimes. Whilst it hasn't aged as well as the works of Hannah Arendt and Karl Popper, for example, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy nonetheless has much to say about totalitarianism in its purest and most devastating form.

4. 

   4 out of 5

   Mz – Aug 06, 2018

   This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. https://www.bookpress.gr/kritikes/ide... https://www.bookpress.gr/kritikes/ide...

5. 

   4 out of 5

   Fatih Güler –

6. 

   5 out of 5

   Jordan Dewar –

7. 

   5 out of 5

   Mariana Zaffaroni Islas –

8. 

   5 out of 5

   Suzanne –

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   5 out of 5

   Jose –

10. 

    5 out of 5

    Tomáš Kratochvíl –

11. 

    4 out of 5

    Imad –

12. 

    5 out of 5

    Liquidlasagna –

13. 

    4 out of 5

    Vinita Manda –

14. 

    5 out of 5

    Ekul –

15. 

    4 out of 5

    Noor –

16. 

    5 out of 5

    Kevin –

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    4 out of 5

    LPenting –

18. 

    4 out of 5

    Bradhernandez –

19. 

    5 out of 5

    Mark Schrad –

20. 

    5 out of 5

    Ben –

21. 

    5 out of 5

    Trent Rock –

22. 

    5 out of 5

    Christopher Hurtado –

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    5 out of 5

    hay man –

24. 

    4 out of 5

    Khayyam Namazov –

25. 

    5 out of 5

    Farhan Sanam –

26. 

    4 out of 5

    Michael-paul Gionfriddo –

27. 

    4 out of 5

    Liudmila Usova –

28. 

    5 out of 5

    Kemal –

29. 

    4 out of 5

    Евгений Минаев –

30. 

    5 out of 5

    СВ Патрушев –

31. 

    4 out of 5

    Klárče Walterová –

32. 

    4 out of 5

    Abdeldjabar Djebbar –

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    5 out of 5

    Bryan –

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    4 out of 5

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    4 out of 5

    Valentina Legarda –

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    5 out of 5

    Constanza –

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    5 out of 5

    Eva Heczková –

38. 

    5 out of 5

    Francisco Cobo romero –

39. 

    4 out of 5

    Elizabeth Saunders –

40. 

    4 out of 5

    Chetana –

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    5 out of 5

    Kakha –

42. 

    5 out of 5

    Ben –