The Chomsky Reader [Paperback]

Noam Chomsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 1987

The political and linguistic writings of America's leading dissident intellectual. He relates his political ideals to his theories about language.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

From the 1960s to the present, linguist Chomsky has been a prominent critic of American foreign policy, influential in radical and scholarly circles. This collection offers a broad sampling of Chomsky's best writing on the subject. The essays are typical Chomsky: long, analytical, probing, and controversial. Some have appeared in earlier collections; others are expanded transcripts of recent lectures. The most familiar are concerned with U.S. policy in Vietnam, Central America, and the Middle East. Editor Peck gives us an overview of Chomsky's writings in his useful introduction, though he tends to be extravagant in his praise. Even more useful is a long interview with Chomsky himself. Highly recommended for all academic libraries. Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

The political and linguistic writings of America's leading dissident intellectual. He relates his political ideals to his theories about language.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; 1 edition (September 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394751736
• ISBN-13: 978-0394751733
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. A member of the American Academy of Science, he has published widely in both linguistics and current affairs. His books include At War with Asia, Towards a New Cold War, Fateful Triangle: The U. S., Israel and the Palestinians, Necessary Illusions, Hegemony or Survival, Deterring Democracy, Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy and Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exercise skepticism, August 8, 2000

By 

EriKa "E" (Iceland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chomsky Reader (Paperback)

Chomsky never asks you to take his word for it. He challenges existing beliefs and paradigms and refutes them, providing evidence of his assertions. You, as the reader, are invited to read what he writes, agree or disagree. Chomsky invites readers to question what information they are given and exercise simple reason and skepticism in evaluating that information.

The introduction to this collection of essays (and informative interview) is excellent. It provides a basic overview of Chomsky's philosophy (if you could call it that.) I felt that this book was basic reading, particularly for those who are new to Chomsky's works. In the introduction Peck writes that freedom and the process of indoctrination go hand in hand... and in America freedoms exist "within an ideological consensus that limits debate and protects powerful interests in ways all too similar to those in which obviously repressive societies operate." The entire book (and Chomsky's many other works) provide evidence of these statements. Chomsky is meticulous in combing for details and wants readers to release themselves from the mindlessness of taking information (or veracity of readily available information) for granted. Conventional media are seemingly free from having a burden of proof and need not provide any evidence to support their claims. This is not only the fault of media outlets. The media do what they can get away with. Discriminating, thoughtful readers seeking information should not accept that.

One of the most apt analogies Chomsky makes in the interview is that professional sports, as an example, are one means for deflecting attention from real and important issues. The layperson can argue and analyse football to death and feel comfortable making his/her own analysis of athletics. However, these same people see world affairs and politics as out of the realm of their experience and expertise and do not even attempt to learn about it. Naturally something is to be said for the fact that many Americans so not have interest in these affairs and are more interested in sports... but it is a cyclical and indoctrinated response. From a young age, Americans are indoctrinated to focus on what their favourite team is doing as opposed to what is happening in another part of the world.

An interesting thought to ponder (at least for me), though, is that in reading the older essays, Chomsky discussed the lack of access to unbiased information. I wonder if this has changed or even been revolutionised by access to electronic publications and communication and technology in general? Or is this just wishful thinking?

39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible, October 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Chomsky Reader (Paperback)

An indispensible anthology from America's foremost foreign policy critic. James Peck, the book's editor, presents an excellent introduction, outlining core themes that unite the wide-ranging material. There is much that is familiar to long-time Chomsky readers, but much that is also less familiar, such as personal background that may help explain the MIT professor's remarkably creative and heretical career. Included among the miscellainea, is a section on his work in linguistics, a critique of B.F. Skinner's behavioral approach, and a defense of freedom and equality-- a compatibility often derided in more conservative circles. Of course, there are the more familiar researches on Latin America, Southeast Asia, and other frontier hotspots that define the American imperium. Unfortunately missing because of publishing date are researches on Washington's more recent adventures in Panama, Iraq, and Yugoslavia. Though the tune may change, the music remains the same.

At bottom - and what renders the MIT professor a non-person to state and media alike - is his view of Washington not as vaunted leader of the free world, but as a self-serving imperial power, neither better nor worse than its predecessors, but with greatly expanded reach and killing power. To put the point briefly: behind sterling academic and intellectual credentials, he mounts a leftish, but non-Marxist, expose' of Washington's most cherished foreign policy pieties. Just as effectively, he is careful not to put forth a central thesis, theory or organizing idea, that might distract from the damning indictment his case studies provide of global interventionism. Shrewdly, he lets the unexpurgated record speak for itself without the distraction of abstract issues, which allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions as to ultimate causes of this imperial behavior.

Challenging the official record is, of course, no easy task. If America behaves like a typical great power, it also filters its self-perception as a great power must. Which is to say, that like other empire builders of the modern era, Washington must disguise its imperial actions in moralistic terms to make them palatable to publics and elites alike. Thus, self-deception in America operates, and must operate, on a grand scale, as witnessed in recent interventions in Kosovo, Kuwait, Nicaragua, and a host of other Pentagon undertakings. All are retailed to an ideologically conditioned public as humanitarian rescues. Nonetheless, should this prism fail, as in Vietnam, Chomsky harbors no optimistic expectations as to how the public might react. Disillusioned voters might continue pragmatic support of the imperial regime or they might not. What is interesting is that the regime acts as though it can't take the risk-- thus the rigid ideological controls that continue to manage popular perceptions regardless of the facts. The latter of course makes up Chomsky's target of debunking attack.

The book can only be considered anti-American by those who believe that it is the actions of Washington and Wall Street that define our collective soul.

34 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seminal Introduction to Chomsky's Major Viewpoints, February 18, 2000

By 

Anthony Solloway - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chomsky Reader (Paperback)

"The Chomsky Reader" kicks off with an excellently composed essay by the books editor, Peck. Excellent as this initial taste is, it gives but a slight indication of what is to come. For this collection of essays by Chomsky gives a unique insight into the viewpoints and observations of one of this century's greatest political thinkers. Is this book 'enjoyable' fellow students have asked me? Perhaps this, in fact, is not the right question. After all, how enjoyable can it be reading essays (backed up by exhaustive evidence) dealing with topics such as tens of thousands of innocents slaughtered in not so far off lands while our 'free press' turns the other way, unwilling to impart meaningful information to their audience? But this book is more than a Chomskyian socio-political critique; avid readers (even with no prior germane knowledge) should enjoy the essays examing language and human nature, (don't forget Chomsky is a Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy). One word of warning, this book can not be leafed through or merely perused; it must be read. Intellectuals, states Chomsky, have a responsibility to tell the truth. Think about that.