Access to health care is essential to our freedom, but it's freedom that eludes many, writes bestselling author Timothy Snyder in his newest book, "Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary."

Snyder fell gravely ill late last year, and as he clung to life he began to reflect upon the notion that without good health, all other freedoms and liberties have no meaning. It urges a rethinking of how we deliver health care in America.

Snyder, a professor at Yale and scholar on authoritarianism, is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, "On Tyranny."