The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, Americaby Timothy Snyder.  And his earlier, very short but terror-inducing On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. Snyder, the eminent professor of history, specializes in the history of Central and Eastern Europe. The Road to Unfreedomprovides context and historical understanding of the post-Cold War power struggles and their current and possible outcomes. On Tyrannytakes modern history and matches it to modern politics and beliefs. Bone chilling, especially the Audible edition narrated by Snyder.