The essential Chomsky

New Press, 2008 – Language Arts & Disciplines – 515 pages
In a single volume, the seminal writings of the worlds leading philosopher, linguist, and critic, published to coincide with his eightieth birthday. For the past forty years Noam Chomskys writings on politics and language have established him as a preeminent public intellectual and as one of the most original and wide-ranging political and social critics of our time. Among the seminal figures in linguistic theory over the past century, since the 1960s Chomsky has also secured a place as perhaps the leading dissident voice in the United States. Chomskys many bestselling works–includingManufacturing Consent, Hegemony or Survival, Understanding Power, andFailed States–have served as essential touchstones for dissidents, activists, scholars, and concerned citizens on subjects ranging from the media to human rights to intellectual freedom. In particular, Chomskys scathing critiques of the U.S. wars in Vietnam, Central America, and the Middle East have furnished a widely accepted intellectual inspiration for antiwar movements over nearly four decades. The Essential Chomskyassembles the core of his most important writings, including excerpts from his most influential texts over the past forty years. Here is an unprecedented, comprehensive overview of Chomskys thought.