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Noam Chomsky
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Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies Paperback – July 1, 1999

by Noam Chomsky (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 93 ratings
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This is an essential introduction to the "propaganda model" of media analysis. Chomsky offers a message of hope, reminding us that resistance is possible, necessary and effective.
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  1. Print length
    422 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    South End Press
  4. Publication date
    July 1, 1999
  5. Dimensions
    5.4 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0896083667
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0896083660
  8. Lexile measure
    1670L
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ South End Press; 35077th edition (July 1, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 422 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0896083667
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0896083660
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1670L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 93 ratings

About the author

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Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky

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Avram Noam Chomsky (/ˈnoʊm ˈtʃɒmski/; born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, logician, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes described as "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy, and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He has spent more than half a century at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he is Institute Professor Emeritus, and is the author of over 100 books on topics such as linguistics, war, politics, and mass media. Ideologically, he aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by https://www.flickr.com/photos/culturaargentina [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
93 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Free Speech
5.0 out of 5 stars Want to know what the intent of the media and corporations truly is?
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2012
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If you've long perceived that the news programs that glow from the corporately empowered tabernacles from the mouths of the disembodied (E-band) spirits that you invite into your living rooms are exceptionally contrived and manipulative in their very selective content, their interviews biased to promote the perception that all is well (at least for the E-band executive conducting the interview and his or her wealthy subject), and their aggressive efforts to assert that America isn't a concept that, in terms of its original intent of individual democracy and enforceable legal rights, died at roughly the same time that railroads arose, produced massive wealth for very few, and managed to get the Supreme Court of the day to declare them to have all the legal rights of individuals, then you might want to read this book and gain some insight into how corporate power is manifested in the news media. This may sound like a dark perspective, but you may rest assured that the author of this book, consistent with his own propaganda model of the mass media, and those who are given access to it, is too often strangely chipper in his perspectives on the topic, so fear not.
14 people found this helpful
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Brendan R. Manning
5.0 out of 5 stars Noam Chomsky
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2010
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Brilliant and insightful. I am a conservative rightwing voter but Professor Chomsky insight into power and the control of and by the media is truly frightening. Don't believe what you are told by the media. Do be fooled by the propaganda machine. Everyone should read his books regardless of your political or religious views. Yes, I am still a conservative rightwing voter but much better informed and aware.
16 people found this helpful
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anonymous
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book by an important thinker
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2014
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Noam Chomsky is an important linguistic theorists and social writer. In this book Chomsky looks at how elites maintain political power through propaganda that distorts and confuses major issues. The first 130 or so pages are originally based on a series of lectures given on the Canadian Broadcasting System, so the style is engaging and easy to follow. He follows this up with 220 or so pages of appendices that address criticisms of his original talks. This detracts a little for the books overall coherence.
8 people found this helpful
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David Mark Olson
5.0 out of 5 stars Necassary Tensions
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2014
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It is a great piece, part of a large body
of work by professor Chomsky that gets
to some of the most important points.
5 people found this helpful
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Joseph G. Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2015
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perfect
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Anthony Solloway
5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary Illusions: Chomsky's tour de force
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2000
Of all the articles and books of Chomsky that I have read, Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies is without doubt the most exhaustively researched (and footnoted), the most logically structured, and the most convincing. Chomsky reminds us that the majority of the populace rely on the various media institutions for their information about political affairs; both domestic and foreign. One can only hold an opinion on a topic if one knows about the topic. So take, for example, the popular myth of the 'persistent Soviet vetoe' at the UN during the cold war. Why do people believe the USSR was constantly vetoeing any and every Security Council Resolution? Simple! When they did, it generated front page condemnation. When the US or the UK exercised their right of veteo: silence. As Chomsky notes, during the years of 1970 and 1989 the former Soviet Union veteod 8 resolutions. The US veteod some 56. This is what Chomsky refers to as Thought Control. Unless the public examine the factual record of the UN themselves, they will never come by this information, (at least not in the mainstream press). So although Chomsky's title may appear somewhat paradoxical, or oxymoronic, a moments reflection on such facts shows it to be, in fact, extremenly pragmatic and truthful. The question is, have you the honesty and sheer guts to question yourself and challenge the information which has contributed to your beliefs? The crux of Chomsky's argument is that propaganda is to a democracy what violence is to a dictatorship. Chomsky points out that, in fact, propaganda is, contrary to popular postulations, more important and vital to a democratic society because people still have some rights. That is, since people can talk, the powers that be must ensure that only the correct words come out of the peoples' mouths. In a dictatorship it does not really matter too much what people think; for whatever they may think, they have to do what they are told, by pain of death. In countries such as the US (and the UK) other, more subtle, methods are required. People often critisise Chomsky for the sources of his information (the copious footnotes). No such critique can be levelled at this work. Chomsky's sources are declassified internal planning documents, naval proceedings documents, and the very institutions he examines, New York Times, Washington Post etc. If there was one Chomsky book I would suggest you to read, this would be it.
296 people found this helpful
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Bodi4ev
5.0 out of 5 stars Most influencial thinker in modern time
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2020
I can not be annoyed enough how absolutely I never heard of him. It is crazy. He is very knowledgeable.
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Top reviews from other countries

JOHN A. KENNEDY
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Reviewed in Canada on June 27, 2024
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Awesome
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Amir
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book? No I should say one of the greatest book...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2009
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This book does not need any review. This is an eye opener book, you can see the reality of today's life without especial filter of media and governments...

I recommend this book to everybody (no matter the age, sex, etc)
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sofiane benali
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in Canada on February 20, 2019
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Good read
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E. E. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Noam Chomsky knows
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2013
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He's just trying to help the rest of us to get a better understanding of how bad things really are: which so far has evaded our intellectual and emotional grasp.
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Jose G.
4.0 out of 5 stars Can not tell
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2017
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It was to send as a gift.
Read only a few pages.
Thank you.
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