The American disease"It was already far too easy to die in this country before the corona virus reached the United States. Our bungled handling of the pandemic is the latest symptom of our disease, a policy that brings pain and death instead of safety and health, profit for a few instead of prosperity for the many."
Prologue: Loneliness and solidarity
Introduction: Our disease 1. Health care is a human right 2. Renewal starts with the children 3. The truth will set us free 4. Doctors should be in charge Conclusion: our recovery
Epilogue: Anger and empathy
Press Reviews
"The strength of the book is its reflexivity."
"An impassioned plea for de-commercialization of medicine and for the preservation and expansion of the welfare state."
"A wise essay."
"Stirring new book."
"An oppressive reckoning with a system that puts profit over human life."
"Cleverly and excitingly written and exquisitely translated by Andreas Wirthensohn." Suddeutsche Zeitung, Viola Schenz
"Timothy Snyder, one of the most renowned historians, has written a very personal book that could not be more timely." The Daily News, Stefan Hunglinger
Published on 17. September 2020
The American disease
Four lessons of freedom from a US hospital
"It was already far too easy to die in this country before coronavirus reached the United States. Our bungling of the pandemic is the latest symptom of our disease, a policy that brings pain and death instead of safety and health, profit for a few instead of prosperity for the many."
From the author of the no. 1-Bestselling "About tyranny" comes a scathing critique of America's response to the corona pandemic. Timothy Snyder's analysis uncovers the roots of the evil. His book is both a stirring personal medical account and an urgent warning to all of us to prevent the commercialization of medicine and not to let the welfare state out of hand. Am 29. December 2019 historian Timothy Snyder became seriously ill. He could no longer stand, could barely think straight, and waited for hours in the emergency room before being examined and rushed to the operating room. While his life was hanging by a thread and the new year was beginning, he realized how profit-oriented the health care system in the USA is and how little all rights and freedoms are worth if the human right to good medical care is not one of them. Then came the pandemic. Donald Trump's administration made things much worse through willful ignorance, disinformation, and power plays. The health care system faced its ultimate test, and it failed. Thousands of Americans died. In this eye-opening cri de coeur, Snyder reconstructs the social developments that have led to the current situation, and he describes the lessons that need to be learned. He highlights dark moments in history and those in his own life, and he shows the four principles that must be taken to heart to move from "american disease" to be cured.