Hopes and Prospects [Paperback]

Noam Chomsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2010

In this urgent new book, Noam Chomsky surveys the dangers and prospects of our early twenty-first century. Exploring challenges such as the growing gap between North and South, American exceptionalism (including under President Barack Obama), the fiascos of Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S.-Israeli assault on Gaza, and the recent financial bailouts, he also sees hope for the future and a way to move forward—in the democratic wave in Latin America and in the global solidarity movements that suggest "real progress toward freedom and justice."

Hopes and Prospects is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about the primary challenges still facing the human race.

"This is a classic Chomsky work: a bonfire of myths and lies, sophistries and delusions. Noam Chomsky is an enduring inspiration all over the world—to millions, I suspect—for the simple reason that he is a truth-teller on an epic scale. I salute him." —John Pilger

"In dissecting the rhetoric and logic of American empire and class domination, at home and abroad, Chomsky continues a longstanding and crucial work of elucidation and activism...the writing remains unswervingly rational and principled throughout, and lends bracing impetus to the real alternatives before us." —Publisher's Weekly

"Chomsky’s commentary is razor sharp and offers a compendium of facts that make a well-supported—and undoubtedly controversial—claim of the incongruity between US actions and the democratic ideals it professes....A valuable resource for both academics and everyday concerned citizens." —ForeWord

Professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Noam Chomsky is widely regarded to be one of the foremost critics of U.S. foreign policy in the world. He has published numerous groundbreaking books, articles, and essays on global politics, history, and linguistics. Among his recent books are The New York Times bestsellers Hegemony or Survival and Failed States.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. This selection of Chomsky's essays and lectures comes divided into geographical areas, but the issues are global in scope and import. In dissecting the rhetoric and logic of American empire and class domination, at home and abroad, Chomsky continues a longstanding and crucial work of elucidation and activism. His latest updates elaborate upon his signature themes—the double standards applied by the centers of U.S. power, including the mainstream media and intellectual culture, and the pervasive disconnect between American policies and public opinion in what Chomsky dubs a dysfunctional democracy. But this book flags another major interest of Chomsky's, signaled in the title: global avenues of resistance, in particular the democratic and independent course being forged across Latin America (where several of these lectures were originally delivered). There are significant redundancies and polemical flourishes, but the writing remains unswervingly rational and principled throughout, and lends bracing impetus to the real alternatives before us. (Mar.)
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Review

This is a classic Chomsky work: a bonfire of myths and lies, sophistries and delusions. Noam Chomsky is an enduring inspiration all over the world for the simple reason that he is a truth-teller on an epic scale. I salute him -- John Pilger One of our most valued political thinkers Independent on Sunday Noam Chomsky is a global phenomenon ... he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet today The New York Times Book Review A treasure-trove of truths that shouldn't be left buried in our sandpit of propaganda and lies -- Johann Hari Independent The west's most prominent critic of US imperialism ... the closest thing in the English-speaking world to an intellectual superstar Guardian --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Haymarket Books; 1st Ed. edition (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931859965
• ISBN-13: 978-1931859967
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Law > Perspectives on Law > Non-US Legal Systems

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

217 of 229 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ignore Chomsky's Hopes and Prospects At Your Peril, May 18, 2010

By 

Fred Branfman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hopes and Prospects (Paperback)

As not only American foreign policy but its domestic economy accelerates its decline to a point that only the blind or obtuse can ignore, people who have dismissed Noam Chomsky in the past as "too radical" may now want to read Hopes and Prospects in order to understand what is really going on. The term "hopes" is an ironic reference to President Obama's "politics of hope", a politics that has disappointed millions who worked for his election and have since dropped out, as the right has openly declared class war. Chomsky's new book includes material on Obama's first year in office, and makes it clear that the powerful corporations and their intellectual apologists, who control both U.S. foreign and domestic policy, remain as powerful as ever in protecting their own interests - at the mounting expense of both the American people and hundreds of millions of others around the world.Chomsky goes far beyond exploding the incredible fact that Tea Partiers and others could remain blind to the fact that it is CORPORATIONS, NOT GOVERNMENT which caused the financial crisis, the oil spill, and a disastrous U.S. foreign policy, and that a government truly representing the American people is the only hope for Tea Partiers and everyone else. Mass media and "manufactured consent" explanations are inadequate to explain America's financial crisis and why it is likely to occur again, why America continues to torture and illegally imprison, despite Obama's promise to end it, why the U.S. empire continues to dramatically weaken, and why today it harms the interests of the vast majority of Americans not to mention those suffering under it abroad, and why the situation in the Middle East - not only Israel/Palestine but Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan - will continue to deteriorate as long as national security planners and corporations are able to continue manipulating public opinion and pursuing their own career and economic interests at the expense of everyone else. You may not agree with everything Chomsky says, but the power of his overall analysis and framework is undeniable. His observations on elite behavior explain far more about the deepening climate, financial, Mideast and domestic social crisis facing America than anything you're likely to read in the mainstream media. You owe it to yourself to read this book, whether or not you agree with it all, if you want to have at least a fighting chance to understand the world around you. By all means, take Chomsky on .Argue with this or that point if you will, explain how he leaves out such and such if you must, but disregard his overall framework at your peril. For if you do you will continue to remain blind about the key issues that will determine not only how, but whether, you, your children and your grandchildren will live.

80 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars About Hopes and Prospects, May 22, 2010

By 

Jane and the Brain - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hopes and Prospects (Paperback)

This book is a compilation of essays that Chomsky also updated just before its release here in May 2010. Each essay has a topic of focus; Chomsky weaves in and out of different subject material throughout each, highlighting moral principles and hypocrisies of the United States, and the West in general. The issues are grotesque and in need of addressing by us - the public.

Contents:

PREFACE ..... VII

PART I: LATIN AMERICA

01. Year 514: Globalization for Whom? ..... 3

02. Latin America and US Foreign Policy ..... 39

03. Democracy and Development: Their Enemies, Their Hopes ..... 75

04. Latin America and Caribbean Unity ..... 103

PART II: NORTH AMERICA

05. "Good News," Iraq and Beyond ..... 121

06. Free Elections, Good News and Bad ..... 143

07. Century's Challenges ..... 165

08. Turning Point? ..... 177

09. Elections 2008: Hope Confronts the Real World ..... 207

10. Obama on Israel-Palestine ..... 251

11. The Torture Memos ..... 259

12. 1989 and Beyond ..... 269

Notes ..... 281

Index ..... 315

51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking, measured, and grounded in rationality, June 12, 2010

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hopes and Prospects (Paperback)

For forty years, Noam Chomsky's erudite insights into politics and language have proved to be an invaluable contribution to ongoing social reflection. Hopes and Prospects is Chomsky's latest work, warning readers about the latest risks and challenges facing America and humankind during the early twenty-first century. Chapters address the growing divide between America's North and South, American exceptionalism (which still has a strong hold in the era of President Barack Obama), the morass of problems (to put it lightly) with Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S.-Israeli aggression toward Gaza, the controversial governmental bailouts - and suggestions to improve the future, as well as reflections on positive developments such as democratic movements in Latin America and global solidarity efforts. Thought-provoking, measured, and grounded in rationality, Hopes and Prospects is strongly recommended as a vital nexus for social debate over vitally pressing national and global issues.