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The Penguin books that shaped our political understanding

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Reading lists

Where to start reading Noam Chomsky’s books

How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World

The Myth of American Idealism

‘Truly eye-opening . . . The most accessible and coherent introduction to Chomsky's ideas' Irish Times 
 
The land of the free. The home of the brave. But what has America achieved in the aim of ‘spreading democracy’ – except wreak havoc across the globe and establish a reckless foreign policy that serves the interest of few and has endangered all too many? 
 
In this timely book, Noam Chomsky writing with Nathan J. Robinson, vividly traces America’s pursuit of global domination – from Washington’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – offering an incisive critique of the self-serving myths that dominant elites in the United States continue to push. 
 
Thorough, urgent and provocative, The Myth of American Idealism offers a highly readable entry to the conclusions Noam Chomsky has come to after a lifetime of thought and activism. 
 
‘An incredibly valuable teaching tool’ Los Angeles Review of Books

The most accessible and coherent introduction to Chomsky's ideas. Chomsky's virtues are in abundant evidence here. He writes with absolute clarity and a withering sarcasm . . . Reading Chomsky can be truly eye-opening for those unaware of what he reveals: facts that are rarely discussed in the mainstream American media or in its schools

A foundational document that would make for good introductory education for a public more resistant to this propaganda . . . Through exhaustive research into the way Americans—government officials, soldiers, journalists—have discussed American foreign policy over the years, Robinson and Chomsky tell a sweeping story of American aggression and amorality in language that is simple, even innocent . . . An incredibly valuable teaching tool for teenagers and young adults as they become politically engaged

Offers rich food for thought . . . the authors’ top-versus-bottom analysis becomes strikingly perceptive in a final chapter analyzing how today a global elite benefits from world-killing fossil fuels

Written in a direct, no-nonsense style, full of shrewd analysis and layered with potent details, it is an excellent summary—and condemnation—of how the United States has shaped the world since it became a global superpower after World War II . . . The Myth of American Idealism should become required reading for those seeking to learn about the blood-soaked history of the American Empire. Without a doubt, Chomsky and Robinson have fulfilled their responsibility as intellectuals to speak the truth and to expose lies

[This book] couldn’t be more timely. An outspoken critic of American empire for most of his life, here Chomsky zeroes in on the myths underlying that imperial expansion, namely the idea that the spread of democracy (no matter the methods) is an unalloyed good. The problem, of course, is that powerful men in small rooms who think themselves both wise and just tend to do the most damage

Noam Chomsky has been proved right . . . The record of hypocrisy recounted by Chomsky and Robinson is sobering and convincing. No open-minded reader could absorb this book and continue to believe the pious rationales that U.S. leaders invoke to justify their bare-knuckled actions

Insightful, scathingly honest . . . For well over half a century a rare voice of sanity and reason in the wilderness of American hypocrisy, lies, and dissembling, [Chomsky] is high on my list of American patriot heroes . . . Robinson, too, is a truth teller

A potent critique of the ideology behind America’s foreign interventions and its status as a global power, and a treatise on how the nation’s hubristic pursuit of 'spreading democracy' threatens not only the delicate balance of global peace, but the already-declining health of our planet. Who it’s for: Chomskyites; policy wonks and casual critics of American recklessness alike

Noam Chomsky (Author) 
Noam Chomsky is institute professor emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lau­reate professor in the Agnes Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. His work is widely credited with having revolutionized the field of modern linguistics, and he is equally renowned for his incisive writings on global affairs and U.S. foreign policy. The single most cited and published living author, winner of numer­ous international awards, Chomsky has written over one hundred books, including the bestselling political works Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, and Who Rules the World?. 
 
Nathan J. Robinson (Author) 
Nathan J. Robinson is the cofounder and editor in chief of Current Affairs magazine. He is the author of Why You Should Be a Socialist and Responding to the Right, and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic, among others. Robinson holds a JD from Yale Law School and a PhD in sociology and social policy from Harvard University.

The land of the free. The home of the brave. But what has America achieved in the aim of ‘spreading democracy’ – except wreak havoc across the globe and establish a reckless foreign policy that serves the interest of few and has endangered all too many? 
 
In this timely book, Noam Chomsky writing with Nathan J. Robinson, vividly traces America’s pursuit of global domination – from Washington’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – offering an incisive critique of the self-serving myths that dominant elites in the United States continue to push. 
 
Thorough, urgent and provocative, The Myth of American Idealism offers a highly readable entry to the conclusions Noam Chomsky has come to after a lifetime of thought and activism.

The Political Economy of the Mass Media

Manufacturing Consent

The classic political study of how elite forces shape mass media. 
 
Edward S Herman and Noam Chomsky investigate how an underlying elite consensus structures mainstream media. Here they skilfully dissect the way in which the marketplace and the economics of publishing significantly shape the news. 
 
This book reveals how issues are framed and topics chosen, and the double standards underlying accounts of free elections, a free press, and governmental repression between Nicaragua and El Salvador; between the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the American invasion of Vietnam; between the genocide in Cambodia under a pro-American government and genocide under Pol Pot. 
 
What emerges from this ground-breaking work is an account of just how propagandistic our mass media can be, and how we can learn to read them and see their function in a radically new way.

Edward S. Herman is Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Among his books are Corporate Control, Corporate Power; The Real Terror Network: Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda; Demonstration Elections: U. S.-Staged Elections in the Dominican Republic, Vietnam and El Salvador (with Frank Brodhead) and The Rise and Fall of the Bulgarian Connection (with Frank Brodhead). 
 
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 previous books include At War with Asia, American Power and the New Mandarins, For Reasons of State, Peace in the Middle East?, Towards a New Cold War, Fateful Triangle: The U. S., Israel and the Palestinians, Pirates and Emperors, The Culture of Terrorism, and Necessary Illusions.

A Liveable Future is Possible

A series of interviews with Noam Chomsky, the world's greatest living public intellectual, about the pressing issues of our time 
 
'One of the greatest, most radical public thinkers of our time’ Arundhati Roy 
 
In this illuminating collection of interviews, Noam Chomsky shares his insights on the pressing challenges facing humanity. A Liveable Future is Possible addresses artificial intelligence and the potential for such programs to surpass humans in cognitive awareness; what lies ahead for a world engulfed in a deadly climate crisis; the rise of neo-fascism internationally, and why we should organize across borders to confront it and the striking similarities between Trump and Biden's foreign policies. 
 
Noam Chomsky has been an incomparable model of moral clarity and intellectual courage during his many decades as a scholar, political activist and social critic. A Liveable Future Is Possible is not only an urgent and informative book, it is a call-to-action for those hoping to help carry the torch of one of history’s greatest minds. 
 
‘Chomsky is a global phenomenon . . . he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet’ The New York Times Book Review

Celebrated scholar and social critic Chomsky address some of today's most vexing problems, from A.I. to climate change

Noam Chomsky (Author) 
Noam Chomsky is institute professor emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lau­reate professor in the Agnes Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. His work is widely credited with having revolutionized the field of modern linguistics, and he is equally renowned for his incisive writings on global affairs and U.S. foreign policy. The single most cited and published living author, winner of numer­ous international awards, Chomsky has written over one hundred books, including the bestselling political works Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, and Who Rules the World?. 
 
C. J. Polychroniou (Author) 
C. J. Polychroniou is a political economist/political scientist who has taught and worked in universities and research centres in Europe and the United States. His main research interests are in European economic integration, globalization, the political economy of the United States, and the deconstruction of neoliberalism’s politico-economic project. He is a regular contributor to Truthout as well as a member of Truthout’s Public Intellectual Project. He has published several books, and his articles have appeared in a variety of journals, magazines, newspapers, and popular news websites. Many of his publications have been translated into several foreign languages, including Croatian, French, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish. He lives in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

In this illuminating collection of interviews, Noam Chomsky shares his insights on the pressing challenges facing humanity. A Liveable Future is Possible addresses artificial intelligence and the potential for such programs to surpass humans in cognitive awareness; what lies ahead for a world engulfed in a deadly climate crisis; the rise of neo-fascism internationally, and why we should organize across borders to confront it and the striking similarities between Trump and Biden's foreign policies. 
 
Noam Chomsky has been an incomparable model of moral clarity and intellectual courage during his many decades as a scholar, political activist and social critic. A Liveable Future Is Possible is not only an urgent and informative book, it is a call-to-action for those hoping to help carry the torch of one of history’s greatest minds.

Illegitimate Authority: Facing the Challenges of Our Time

&lsquo;One of the greatest, most radical public thinkers of our time&rsquo; ARUNDHATI ROY 
 
In these incisive interviews, activist Chomsky addresses the urgent questions of this tumultuous time, speaking to the deterioration of democracy in the United States and rising tensions globally. 
 
He examines the crumbling of the social fabric and the fractures of the Biden era, including the halting steps toward a Green New Deal, the illegitimate authority of the Supreme Court, in particular its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and the ongoing fallout from COVID-19. Chomsky also untangles the roots of the War in Ukraine, the diplomatic tensions among the United States, China, and Russia, and considers the need for climate action on an international scale. 
 
Illegitimate Authority exposes those who wield power in their own self-interest and plots framework for how we can stand together and fight against injustice. 
 
'The West's most prominent critic of US imperialism . . . the closest thing in the English-speaking world to an intellectual superstar' Guardian 
 
'Will there ever again be a public intellectual who commands the attention of so many across the planet?' New Statesman

Noam Chomsky examines the crumbling of the social fabric and the fractures of the Biden era, including the halting steps toward a Green New Deal, the illegitimate authority of the Supreme Court, in particular its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and the ongoing fallout from COVID-19. Chomsky also untangles the roots of the War in Ukraine, the diplomatic tensions among the United States, China, and Russia, and considers the need for climate action on an international scale. 
 
Illegitimate Authority exposes those who wield power in their own self-interest and plots framework for how we can stand together and fight against injustice.

Chronicles of Dissent

&lsquo;One of the greatest, most radical public thinkers of our time&rsquo; ARUNDHATI ROY 
 
An accessible, powerful overview of Noam Chomsky's political thought 
 
In sixteen extended talks with Alternative Radio's David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky explains:<ul><li>Why the 'war on drugs' is really a war on poor people.</li><li>How attacks on political correctness are attacks on independent thought.</li><li>How historical revisionism has recast the United States as the victim in the Vietnam War.</li></ul>Widely recognized as one of the most original and important thinkers of our age, Chomsky's trenchant analysis of current events is a breath of fresh air in a world more and more polluted by mainstream media.

Noam Chomsky is institute professor emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lau­reate professor in the Agnes Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. His work is widely credited with having revolutionized the field of modern linguistics, and he is equally renowned for his incisive writings on global affairs and U.S. foreign policy. The single most cited and published living author, winner of numer­ous international awards, Chomsky has written over one hundred books, including the bestselling political works Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, and Who Rules the World?.

In sixteen extended talks with Alternative Radio's David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky explains why the 'war on drugs' is really a war on poor people; how attacks on political correctness are attacks on independent thought; how historical revisionism has recast the United States as the victim in the Vietnam War. Widely recognized as one of the most original and important thinkers of our age, Chomsky's trenchant analysis of current events is a breath of fresh air in a world more and more polluted by mainstream media.

Neoliberalism, the Pandemic and the Urgent Need for Radical Change

The Precipice

In this powerful collection of interviews, Noam Chomsky exposes the problems of our world today, as we stand in this period of monumental change, preparing for a more hopeful tomorrow. 
 
'For the left, elections are a brief interlude in a life of real politics, a moment to ask whether it's worth taking time off to vote . . . Then back to work. The work will be to move forward to construct the better world that is within reach.' 
 
He sheds light into the phenomenon of right-wing populism, and exposes the catastrophic nature and impact of authoritarian policies on people, the environment and the planet as a whole. He captures the dynamics of the brutal class warfare launched by the masters of capital to maintain and even enhance the features of a dog-eat-dog society. And he celebrates the recent unprecedented mobilizations of millions of people internationally against neoliberal capitalism, racism and police violence. 
 
We stand at a precipice and we must fight to pull the world back from it.

The Precipice is a vehement discussion of how American politics have changed, particularly over the past forty years

In this powerful collection of interviews, Noam Chomsky exposes the problems of our world today, as we stand in this period of monumental change, preparing for a more hopeful tomorrow. He sheds light into the phenomenon of right-wing populism, and exposes the catastrophic nature and impact of authoritarian policies on people, the environment and the planet as a whole. He captures the dynamics of the brutal class warfare launched by the masters of capital to maintain and even enhance the features of a dog-eat-dog society. And he celebrates the recent unprecedented mobilizations of millions of people internationally against neoliberal capitalism, racism and police violence.

Manufacturing Discontent and Resistance

Consequences of Capitalism

An essential primer on capitalism, politics and how the world works, based on the hugely popular undergraduate lecture series 'What is Politics?' 
 
 
Is there an alternative to capitalism? In this landmark text Chomsky and Waterstone chart a critical map for a more just and sustainable society. 
 
'Covid-19 has revealed glaring failures and monstrous brutalities in the current capitalist system. It represents both a crisis and an opportunity. Everything depends on the actions that people take into their own hands.' 
 
How does politics shape our world, our lives and our perceptions? How much of 'common sense' is actually driven by the ruling classes' needs and interests? And how are we to challenge the capitalist structures that now threaten all life on the planet? 
 
Consequences of Capitalism exposes the deep, often unseen connections between neoliberal 'common sense' and structural power. In making these linkages, we see how the current hegemony keeps social justice movements divided and marginalized. And, most importantly, we see how we can fight to overcome these divisions.

Noam Chomsky is indispensable. Just as it is impossible to imagine appreciating the dramatic arts without learning Shakespeare, or loving jazz trumpet without an appreciation of Louis Armstrong, it is inconceivable that one might study contemporary political thought without reading Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is the bestselling author of over 100 influential political books, including Hegemony or Survival, Imperial Ambitions, Failed States, Interventions, What We Say Goes, Hopes and Prospects, Making the Future, On Anarchism, Masters of Mankind and Who Rules the World. He has also been the subject of numerous books of biography and interviews and has collaborated with journalists on books such as Perilous Power, Gaza in Crisis, and On Palestine. 
 
Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor (emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Agnese Nelms Haury Chair in the Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. 
 
 Marvin Waterstone is Professor Emeritus in the School of Geography and Development at the 
University of Arizona, where he has been a faculty member for over 30 years. He is also the former 
director of the University of Arizona Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Comparative Cultural and Literary Studies. His research and teaching focus on the Gramscian notions of hegemony and common sense, and their connections to social justice and progressive social change. His most recent books are Wageless Life (co-authored with Ian Shaw) and Geographic Thought (co-edited with George Henderson).

Is there an alternative to capitalism? In this landmark text Chomsky and Waterstone chart a critical map for a more just and sustainable society. 
 
'Covid-19 has revealed glaring failures and monstrous brutalities in the current capitalist system. It represents both a crisis and an opportunity. Everything depends on the actions that people take into their own hands.' 
 
How does politics shape our world, our lives and our perceptions? How much of 'common sense' is actually driven by the ruling classes' needs and interests? And how are we to challenge the capitalist structures that now threaten all life on the planet? 
 
Consequences of Capitalism exposes the deep, often unseen connections between neoliberal 'common sense' and structural power. In making these linkages, we see how the current hegemony keeps social justice movements divided and marginalized. And, most importantly, we see how we can fight to overcome these divisions.

Conversations on the Rising Threats to Democracy

Global Discontents

'If I were a voter in Britain, I would vote for [Jeremy Corbyn]' - Noam Chomsky, 2017 
 
Global Discontents is an essential guide to geopolitics and how to fight back, from the world's leading public intellectual 
 
What kind of world are we leaving to our grandchildren? How are the discontents kindled today likely to blaze and explode tomorrow? 
 
From escalating climate change to the devastation in Syria, pandemic state surveillance to looming nuclear war, Noam Chomsky takes stock of the world today. Over the course of ten conversations with long-time collaborator David Barsamian, spanning 2013-2016, Chomsky argues in favour of radical changes to a system that cannot possibly cope with what awaits tomorrow. 
 
Interwoven with personal reflections spanning from childhood to his eighth decade of life, Global Discontents also marks out Chomsky's own intellectual journey, mapping his progress to revolutionary ideas and global prominence.

If you've never read any Chomsky before, and you want to know what all the fuss is about, this book is a good place to start. Yet more evidence of why Chomsky deserves his position as one of the world's foremost intellectuals

Noam Chomsky is the bestselling author of some of the most influential political books of the past fifty years, including Hegemony or Survival, Imperial Ambitions, Failed States, and Who Rules the World. Noam Chomsky is Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 
 
David Barsamian, director of the award-winning and widely syndicated Alternative Radio, is a winner of the Lannan Foundation's Cultural Freedom Fellowship and the ACLU's Upton Sinclair Award for independent journalism. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.

What kind of world are we leaving to our grandchildren? How are the discontents kindled today likely to blaze and explode tomorrow? 
 
From escalating climate change to the devastation in Syria, pandemic state surveillance to looming nuclear war, Noam Chomsky takes stock of the world today. Over the course of ten conversations with long-time collaborator David Barsamian, spanning 2013-2016, Chomsky argues in favour of radical changes to a system that cannot possibly cope with what awaits tomorrow. 
 
Interwoven with personal reflections spanning from childhood to his eighth decade of life, Global Discontents also marks out Chomsky's own intellectual journey, mapping his progress to revolutionary ideas and global prominence.

Optimism Over Despair

An essential overview of the problems of our world today -- and how we should prepare for tomorrow -- from the world's leading public intellectual 
 
We have two choices. We can be pessimistic, give up, and help ensure that the worst will happen. Or we can be optimistic, grasp the opportunities that surely exist, and maybe help make the world a better place. Not much of a choice. 
 
From peerless political thinker Noam Chomsky comes an exploration of rising neoliberalism, the refugee crisis in Europe, the Black Lives Matter movement, the dysfunctional US electoral system, and the prospects and challenges of building a movement for radical change. 
 
Including four up-to-the-minute interviews on the 2016 American election campaign and global resistance to Trump, this Penguin Special is a concise introduction to Chomsky's ideas and his take on the state of the world today.

Highly informative ,deftly organized... Noam Chomsky teaches us-yet again-so much on a huge range of issues... If you haven't read Chomsky before, this book will open your eyes. Even if you have, reading this book will make you realize that you still have more eyes to be opened. A beacon in this turbulent and darkening world

Ha-Joon Chang, author of '23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism'

Especially valuable in helping us navigate the dreadful challenges of the Trumpian era... For all those of us who have always dreamed of spending a day with Noam Chomsky and getting his answers to all our questions about the (sorry) state of the world, here's the next best thing: a collection of interviews with our greatest living intellectual on capitalism, empire, and social change

Astonishing, fundamental, urgent... Demonstrating anew that Noam Chomsky is the world's most humane, philosophically sophisticated, and knowledgeable public intellectual. I cannot imagine a better primer for anyone seeking a better, safer, fairer future

Professor Richard Falk, International Law Emeritus at Princeton University

In this brilliant series of recent and wide-ranging interviews, Noam Chomsky combines an astounding breadth of knowledge, great depth of insight, clarity and a relentless commitment to social and economic justice. Simply exhilarating, especially in our current dismal era of Donald Trump. Optimism over Despair is a book to devour

Professor Robert Pollin, Codirector of the Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts

Noam Chomsky is the bestselling author of over 100 influential political books, including Hegemony or Survival, Imperial Ambitions, Failed States, Interventions, What We Say Goes, Hopes and Prospects, Making the Future, On Anarchism, Masters of Mankind and Who Rules the World. He has also been the subject of numerous books of biography and interviews and has collaborated with journalists on books such as Perilous Power, Gaza in Crisis, and On Palestine. Noam Chomsky is Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

We have two choices. We can be pessimistic, give up, and help ensure that the worst will happen. Or we can be optimistic, grasp the opportunities that surely exist, and maybe help make the world a better place. Not much of a choice. 
 
Another essential work from a peerless political thinker, exploring the rise of neoliberalism, the refugee crisis in Europe, the Black Lives Matter movement, the dysfunctional US electoral system, and the prospects and challenges of building a movement for radical change. Including four up-to-the-minute interviews on the 2016 American election campaign and global resistance to Trump, this Penguin Special is a concise introduction to Chomsky's ideas and his take on the state of the world today.

Who Rules the World?

The essential account of geopolitics - including an afterword on President Donald Trump 
 
'For anyone wanting to find out more about the world we live in . . . there is one simple answer: read Noam Chomsky' New Statesman 
 
Noam Chomsky: philosopher, political writer, fearless activist. No one has done more to question the hidden actors who govern our lives, calling the powers that be to account. Here he presents Who Rules the World?, his definitive account of those powers, how they work, and why we should be questioning them. 
 
From the dark history of the US and Cuba to China's global rise, from torture memos to sanctions on Iran, this book investigates the defining issues of our times and exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of America's policies and actions. The world's political and financial elite are now operating almost totally unconstrained by the so-called democratic structure. With climate change and nuclear proliferation threatening our very survival, dissenting voices have never been more necessary. 
 
Fiercely outspoken and rigorously argued, Who Rules the World? is an indispensable guide to how things really are. 
 
'Chomsky is a giant: not just for his intellect, but for his huge influence on millions of people who want an alternative to injustice' Owen Jones

Publisher's description.  Noam Chomsky is the world's most influential political commentator, bar none. Here he presents a comprehensive examination of contemporary America, its behaviour at home and abroad, its single-minded pursuit and exercise of power.

'As long as the general population is diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable, the powerful can do as they please...' 
 
In the post-9/11 era, America's policy-makers have prioritised the pursuit of power above all else -- human rights, democracy, even security. From expanding drone assassination programs to civil war in Syria to underwriting the violence in Israel and Palestine, Noam Chomsky offers insights into the workings of imperial power in our increasingly chaotic planet. As philosopher, political commentator and prolific activist, Chomsky has a unique capacity for presenting the facts of our global situation with intelligence, nuance and real impact.

Because We Say So

Because We Say So is Noam Chomsky's essential counter punch to American hegemony 
 
In 1962, the eminent statesman Dean Acheson enunciated a principle that has dominated global politics ever since: that no legal issue arises when the United States responds to a challenge to its 'power, position, and prestige'. In short, whatever the world may think, U.S. actions are legitimate because they say so. 
 
Spanning the impact of Edward Snowden's whistleblowing and Palestinian-Israeli relations to deeper reflections on political philosophy and the importance of a commons to democracy, Because We Say So takes American imperialism head on. 
 
'Noam Chomsky is one of a small band of individuals fighting a whole industry. And that makes him not only brilliant, but heroic' Arundhati Roy 
 
'The world's greatest public intellectual' Observer

Publisher's description. From Edward Snowden and Palestinian-Israeli relations to political philosophy and the nature of democracy, Because We Say So offers a cross-section of perspectives on the question of America's ongoing hegemony.

Chomsky is one of a small band of individuals fighting a whole industry. And that makes him not only brilliant, but heroic

Chomsky's work is neither theoretical, nor ideological: it is passionate and righteous

The world's greatest public intellectual

For over fifty years, one fact has dominated global politics: the United States can respond to any challenge to its power however it sees fit. Whatever the world may think, US actions are legitimate simply because they say so. 
 
With charateristic clarity and authority, Chomsky takes American imperialism head-on. From Edward Snowden and Palestinian-Israeli relations to political philosophy and how we structure democracy, Because We Say So offers a cross-section of perspectives on the question of America's ongoing hegemony.

Essays and Lectures, 1969-2013

Masters of Mankind

'Arguably the most important intellectual alive' New York Times on Noam Chomsky 
 
In this collection of essays from 1969-2013, Noam Chomsky exposes the real nature of state power. With unrelenting logic, he holds the arguments of empire up to critical examination and shatters the myths of those who protect the power and privilege of the few against the interests and needs to the many. 
 
Including essays on subjects such as: 
 
* Human Intelligence and the Environment 
* Terror, Justice and Self-Defence 
* The Welfare-Warfare state 
 
This is an indispensable compilation of searing insights into the state of our world. 
 
Praise for Chomsky: 
 
'Noam Chomsky is a global phenomenon . . . he may be the most widely read American voice on the planet today' NYT Book Review 
 
'Will there ever again be a public intellectual who commands the attention of so many across the planet?' New Statesman 
 
'The west's most prominent critic of US imperialism . . . the closest thing in the English-speaking world to an intellectual superstar' Guardian

In this collection of essays from 1969-2013, many in book form for the first time, Noam Chomsky exposes the real nature of state power. With unrelenting logic, he holds the arguments of empire up to critical examination and shatters the myths of those who protect the power and privilege of the few against the interests and needs to the many. 
 
This is an indispensable compilation of searing insights into the state of our modern world.

On Palestine

Co-authored by two leading voices in the struggle to liberate Palestine, an indispensable book for understanding the situation in Gaza right now 
 
What is the future of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement directed at Israel? Which is more viable, the binational or one state solution? 
 
Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé discuss the road ahead for Palestinians and how the international community can pressure Israel to end its human rights abuses against the people of Palestine in this urgent and timely book, a sequel to their acclaimed Gaza in Crisis. 
 
'Chomsky is a global phenomenon . . . he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet' The New York Times Book Review 
 
'Ilan Pappé is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian' John Pilger 
 
'This sober and unflinching analysis should be read and reckoned with by anyone concerned with practicable change in the long-suffering region' Publishers Weekly (on Gaza in Crisis)

Seminal . . . an erudite and nuanced account of Palestine's history . . . An essential guide to understanding the shifting situation

Chomsky is of course one of the most venerated political critics in the world, and Pappé is regarded as one of Israel&rsquo;s greatest historians

On Palestine is Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé's indispensable update on a suffering region. 
 
Operation Protective Edge, Israel's most recent assault on Gaza, left thousands of Palestinians dead and cleared the way for another Israeli land grab. 
 
The need to stand in solidarity with Palestinians has never been greater. Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé, two leading voices in the struggle to liberate Palestine, discuss the road ahead for Palestinians and how the international community can pressure Israel to end its human rights abuses against the people of Palestine. 
 
This urgent and timely book offers hope and a way forward for all those committed to the struggle to liberate Palestine. 
 
On Palestine is the sequel to Chomsky and Pappé's acclaimed book Gaza in Crisis.

On Anarchism

On Anarchism is an essential introduction to Noam Chomsky's political theory. 
 
On Anarchism sheds a much needed light on the foundations of Chomsky's thought, specifically his constant questioning of the legitimacy of entrenched power. The book gathers his essays and interviews to provide a short, accessible introduction to his distinctively optimistic brand of anarchism. Refuting the notion of anarchism as a fixed idea, and disputing the traditional fault lines between anarchism and socialism, this is a book sure to challenge, provoke and inspire. 
 
Profoundly relevant to our times, it is a touchstone for political activists and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of anarchism, or of Chomsky's thought. 
 
'Arguably the most important intellectual alive' New York Times

On Anarchism offers a vital overview of the foundations of Noam Chomsky's thought, focussing in particular on his constant questioning of the legitimacy of entrenched power. The book gathers his essays and interviews to provide a short, accessible introduction to his distinctively optimistic brand of anarchism. Refuting the notion of anarchism as a fixed idea, and disputing the traditional fault lines between anarchism and socialism, this is a book sure to challenge, provoke and inspire. Profoundly relevant to our times, it is a touchstone for political activists and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of anarchism, or of Chomsky's thought.

Conversations with David Barsamian on Global Democratic Uprisings and the New Challenges to U.S. Empire

Power Systems

Power Systems is the latest collection of searing insights from intellectual superstar Noam Chomsky. 
 
In this new collection of conversations, conducted from 2010 to 2012, Noam Chomsky explores the most immediate and urgent concerns: the future of democracy in the Arab world, the implications of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the 'class war' fought by U.S. business interests against working people and the poor, the breakdown of mainstream political institutions and the rise of the far right. 
 
The latest volume from a long-established, trusted partnership, this collection shows once again that no interlocutor engages with Chomsky more effectively than David Barsamian. These interviews will inspire a new generation of readers, as well as longtime Chomsky fans eager for his latest thinking on the many crises we now confront, both at home and abroad. They confirm that Chomsky is an unparalleled resource for anyone seeking to understand our world today. 
 
Praise for Noam Chomsky: 
 
'One of the finest minds of the twentieth century' New Yorker 
 
'Noam Chomsky is a global phenomenon . . . he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet today' New York Times Book Review 
 
'Will there ever again be a public intellectual who commands the attention of so many across the planet?' New Statesman 
 
'The west's most prominent critic of US imperialism . . . the closest thing in the English-speaking world to an intellectual superstar' Guardian 
 
Noam Chomsky is the author of numerous bestselling political books, including Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, Interventions, What We Say Goes, Hopes and Prospects and, most recently, Occupy, all of which are published by Hamish Hamilton/Penguin. He is a professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT, and is widely credited with having revolutionized modern linguistics. 
 
David Barsamian is the award-winning founder and director of Alternative Radio. He has authored several books of interviews with leading political thinkers. www.alternativeradio.org

One of the finest minds of the twentieth century

Noam Chomsky is a global phenomenon . . . he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet today

Will there ever again be a public intellectual who commands the attention of so many across the planet?

The west's most prominent critic of US imperialism . . . the closest thing in the English-speaking world to an intellectual superstar

In this new collection of conversations, Noam Chomsky explores the most immediate and urgent concerns: the future of democracy in the Arab world, the implications of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the 'class war' fought by U.S. business interests against working people and the poor, the breakdown of mainstream political institutions and the rise of the far right. 
 
The latest volume from a long-established, trusted partnership, this collection will inspire a new generation of readers, as well as longtime Chomsky fans eager for his latest thinking on the many crises we now confront across the world.

Occupations, Interventions, Empire and Resistance

Making the Future

Making the Future is the latest collection of essays from Noam Chomsky, one of our most vital and provocative voices of political dissent. 
 
Taking up the thread from 2007's Interventions, these penetrating and compelling articles examine numerous topics, including the financial crisis, Obama's presidency, WikiLeaks and the on-going conflicts in the Middle East. 
 
Restating and refining his commitment to democracy and finding inspiration in the popular uprisings of the Arab Spring, Making the Future is Chomsky's fiercely-argued and timely comment on a fast-changing world. 
 
Praise for Noam Chomsky: 
 
'Chomsky is one of a small band of individuals fighting a whole industry. And that makes him not only brilliant, but heroic' Arundhati Roy 
 
'Noam Chomsky is a global phenomenon . . . he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet today' New York Times Book Review 
 
'Noam Chomsky is an inspiration all over the world - to millions I suspect - for the simple reason that he is a truth-teller on an epic scale' John Pilger

Noam Chomsky is an inspiration all over the world -  to millions I suspect -  for the simple reason that he is a truth-teller on an epic scale

Noam Chomsky is a global phenomenon  . . . he may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet today

'The fate of democracy is at stake in Madison, Wisconsin, no less than it is in Tahrir Square' 
 
Making the Future is the latest collection of essays from Noam Chomsky, one of our most vital and provocative voices of political dissent. 
 
Taking up the thread from 2007's Interventions, these penetrating and compelling articles examine numerous topics, including the financial crisis, Obama's presidency, WikiLeaks and the on-going conflicts in the Middle East. 
 
Restating and refining his commitment to democracy and finding inspiration in the popular uprisings of the Arab Spring, Making the Future is Chomsky's fiercely-argued and timely comment on a fast-changing world.

Occupy

Occupy gives Noam Chomsky's thoughts on a movement which swept the world 
 
'Occupy is the first major public response to thirty years of class war.' 
 
Since its appearance in Zuccotti Park, New York, in September 2011, the Occupy movement has spread to hundreds of towns and cities across the world. No longer occupying small tent camps, the movement now occupies the global conscience as its messages spread from street protests to op-ed pages to the highest seats of power. From the movement's onset, Noam Chomsky has supported its critique of corporate corruption and encouraged its efforts to increase civic participation, economic equality, democracy and freedom. 
 
Through talks and conversations with movement supporters, Occupy presents Chomsky's latest thinking on the central issues, questions and demands that are driving ordinary people to protest. How did we get to this point? How are the wealthiest 1% influencing the lives of the other 99%? How can we separate money from politics? What would a genuinely democratic election look like? How can we redefine basic concepts like 'growth' to increase equality and quality of life for all? 
 
Occupy is another vital contribution from Chomsky to the literature of defiance and protest, and a red-hot rallying call to forge a better, more egalitarian future.

'Occupy is the first major public response to thirty years of class war.' 
 
Since its appearance in Zuccotti Park, New York, in September 2011, the Occupy movement has spread to hundreds of towns and cities across the world. No longer occupying small tent camps, the movement now occupies the global conscience as its messages spread from street protests to op-ed pages to the highest seats of power. From the movement's onset, Noam Chomsky has supported its critique of corporate corruption and encouraged its efforts to increase civic participation, economic equality, democracy and freedom. 
 
Through talks and conversations with movement supporters, Occupy presents Chomsky's latest thinking on the central issues, questions and demands that are driving ordinary people to protest. How did we get to this point? How are the wealthiest 1% influencing the lives of the other 99%? How can we separate money from politics? What would a genuinely democratic election look like? How can we redefine basic concepts like 'growth' to increase equality and quality of life for all?

Reflections on Israel's War Against the Palestinians

Gaza in Crisis

Co-authored by two leading voices in the struggle to liberate Palestine, a clear-sighted and essential analysis of the political context around this region at a desperate impasse 
 
From the targeting of schools and hospitals, to the indiscriminate use of white phosphorus, Israel's conduct in 'Operation Cast Lead' has rattled even some of its most strident supporters. 
 
 In Gaza in Crisis, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé survey the fallout from that devastation, and place the massacre in Gaza in the context of Israel's long-standing war against the Palestinians. It is a rigorous, historically informed and much-needed analysis of the situation and will be welcomed by all those eager for Chomsky's and Pappé's insights into yet another political catastrophe. 
 
 '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 
 
 'Ilan Pappé is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian' John Pilger

This sober and unflinching analysis should be read and reckoned with by anyone concerned with practicable change in the long-suffering region

Chomsky has an authority granted by brilliance

Noam Chomsky is the bestselling author of over 100 influential political books, including Hegemony or Survival, Imperial Ambitions, Failed States, Interventions, What We Say Goes, Hopes and Prospects, Making the Future, On Anarchism, Masters of Mankind and Who Rules the World. Noam Chomsky is Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 
 
Ilan Pappé is Professor of History at the University of Exeter, co-director of the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies, director of the Palestine Studies Centre at the University of Exeter, and author of various books, including the bestselling The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.

From the targeting of schools and hospitals, to the indiscriminate use of white phosphorus, Israel's conduct in 'Operation Cast Lead' has rattled even some of its most strident supporters. 
 
In this book, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé survey the fallout from that devastation, and place the massacre in Gaza in the context of Israel's long-standing war against the Palestinians. Gaza in Crisis is a rigorous, historically informed and much-needed analysis of the situation and will be welcomed by all those eager for Chomsky's insights into yet another political catastrophe.

Hopes and Prospects

Hopes and Prospects is Noam Chomsky's indispensable analysis of the world at present and a roadmap for the future 
 
In Hopes and Prospects, Noam Chomsky examines the challenges of our early twenty-first century. He explores obstacles and threats such as the widening gap between North and South America, US exceptionalism (which continues under Obama), the fiascos of Iraq and Afghanistan, the US-Israeli assault on Gaza and the recent financial bailouts. 
 
He sees hope for the future and opportunities to move forward, however - in the democratic wave in Latin America and in the global solidarity movements which suggest 'real progress towards freedom and justice'. 
 
Hopes and Prospects is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the primary challenges facing the human race in the coming years. 
 
'A treasure-trove of truths that shouldn't be left buried in our sandpit of propaganda and lies' Johann Hari, Independent 
 
'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 
 
'The west's most prominent critic of US imperialism . . . the closest thing in the English-speaking world to an intellectual superstar' Guardian

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

One of our most valued political thinkers

A treasure-trove of truths that shouldn't be left buried in our sandpit of propaganda and lies

In this urgent new book, Noam Chomsky surveys the threats and prospects of our early twenty-first century. Exploring challenges such as the growing gap between North and South, American exceptionalism (even under Obama), the fiascos of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Israeli assault on Gaza and the recent financial bailouts, he also sees hope for the future and a way to move forward - in the so-called democratic wave in Latin America and in the global solidarity movements which suggest 'real progress towards freedom and justice'. 
 
Hopes and Prospects is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about the primary challenges still facing the human race and is wondering where to find a ray of hope.

Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World

What We Say Goes

Chomsky is a global phenomenon . . . perhaps the most widely read voice on foreign policy on the planet

In this all-new collection of conversations, Noam Chomsky explores immediate and urgent international concerns including Iran's challenge to the United States, the deterioration of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the ongoing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, the rise of China, and the growing power of the left in Latin America, as well as the Democratic victory in the US midterm elections and its ramifications for the future. As always, Chomsky presents his own ideas vividly and accessibly, with uncompromising principles and valuable insights. 
 
These interviews will inspire a new generation of readers, as well as long-term Chomsky fans eager for his latest thinking on the many crises the world now confronts.

Noam Chomsky

The world's greatest public intellectual

One of the finest minds of the twentieth century

When the sun sets on the American empire, as it will, as it must, Noam Chomsky's work will survive

Arguably the most important intellectual alive

The closest thing in the English-speaking world to an intellectual superstar

With exceptional clarity and power of argument, Noam Chomsky lays bare as no one else can the realities of contemporary geopolitics. Divided into four sections and originally published in the US as individual short books which have collectively sold over half a million copies, How the World Works is a collection of speeches and interviews with Chomsky by David Barsamian, edited by Arthur Naiman. It includes What Uncle Sam Really Wants, about US foreign policy; The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many, about the new global economy, food, Third World 'economic miracles' and the roots of racism; Secrets, Lies and Democracy, about the US, the CIA, religious fundamentalism, global inequality and the coming eco-catastrophe; and The Common Good, about equality, freedom, the media, the myth of Third World debt and manufacturing dissent.

Noam Chomsky

Praise for How the World Works

The world's greatest public intellectual

One of the finest minds of the twentieth century

When the sun sets on the American empire, as it will, as it must, Noam Chomsky's work will survive

The world's greatest public intellectual

One of the finest minds of the twentieth century

When the sun sets on the American empire, as it will, as it must, Noam Chomsky's work will survive

The world's greatest public intellectual

One of the finest minds of the twentieth century

When the sun sets on the American empire, as it will, as it must, Noam Chomsky's work will survive

Books by Noam Chomsky

Articles featuring Noam Chomsky

The Penguin books that shaped our political understanding

Where to start reading Noam Chomsky’s books

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