An interview with Noam Chomsky is a bit like throwing batting practice to Babe Ruth. What you lob in, he will hammer out.
These conversational interviews by Michael Albert, who has been close to Chomsky for roughly half a century and talked with him many hundreds of times, spans a wide range of topics including journalism, science, religion, the racist foundations of American society, education as indoctrination, issues of class and resistance, colonialism, imperialism, and much more. The thread through it all is that every topic—and the list above takes us just about halfway through this book—reveals how social systems work, what their impact on humanity is, and how they are treated by the elite, mainstream intellectuals, and leftists. It gets personal, theoretical, and observational. The lessons are relevant to all times, so far, and pretty much all places, and Chomsky’s logical scalpel, with moral guidance, is relentless.
What People Are Saying
“Chomsky is a global phenomenon. . . . He may be the most widely read American voice on foreign policy on the planet.” New York Times Book Review
“For anyone wanting to find out more about the world we live in . . . there is one simple answer: read Noam Chomsky.” New Statesman
“With relentless logic, Chomsky bids us to listen closely to what our leaders tell us—and to discern what they are leaving out. . . . Agree with him or not, we lose out by not listening.” Businessweek
“Chomsky remains the thinker who shaped a generation, a beacon of hope in the darkest of times.” Sarah Jaffe, author of Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt
“Noam Chomsky is the world’s most humane, philosophically sophisticated, and knowledgeable public intellectual.” Richard Falk, Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University
About the Authors
Noam Chomsky is a laureate professor at the University of Arizona and professor emeritus in the MIT Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. His work is widely credited with having revolutionized the field of modern linguistics, and Chomsky is one of the foremost critics of U.S. foreign policy. He has published numerous groundbreaking books, articles, and essays on global politics, history, and linguistics. His recent books include Who Rules the World? and Hopes and Prospects.
Michael Albert is an organizer, publisher, teacher, and author of over twenty books and hundreds of articles. He cofounded South End Press, Z Magazine, the Z Media Institute, ZNet, and various other projects, and works full time for Z Communications. He is the author of Practical Utopia: Strategies for a Desirable Society.