Timothy Snyder’s ‘Our Malady’ uses his experience with the hospital system during a life-threatening illness as a case study of themes explored in his book ‘On Tyranny.’ The profit motive and inequality of the American medical system undermine our claim to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” since without good health—and that is not what our current system delivers—we cannot be contributing members of a healthy society. A country in which the rich have access to better care “turns our human concern about health into a silent yet profound inequality that undermines democracy…. If health care is a privilege rather than a right, it demoralized those who get it and kills those who do not” (34-35). Snyder also spends some time analyzing Donald Trump’s deplorable response to the COVID pandemic and the implications of his politicization for public health. Uncharacteristically, however, this slim book doesn’t include much of a call to action, beyond demanding better, more sensitive care in our day-to-day interactions with medical professionals.