Noam Chomsky is a popular American linguist, philosopher, historian, cognitive scientist, social critic, and political activist. In his long career, he has also written some amazing books as well. The theme of the books were linguistics, war, politics, and mass media. He is also a professor of linguistics at MIT and the University of Arizona.
His Personal Life – Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia in a middle-class Jewish family. He has studied at the University of Pennsylvania and done his post-graduation from Harvard. He began his career teaching at MIT. His work, Syntactic Structures, is what made him popular and became a landmark in his career.
He has achieved so much and contributed in the field of linguistics and field like cognitive psychology. As we have said earlier he is a pretty popular American author and he has written some very amazing books in his career that you must read. In his career, till now he has written 150 books and every one of them holds a unique perspective and thought that you should read about. The topic of his books is not that common yet he beautifully written these books and made everyone fall in love with his writing style.
Since you are here, I am pretty sure that you might be looking for the best Noam Chomsky books to read. If you haven’t read any of his books before, it might be a little difficult to choose one as well. So here we are to help you out with this matter and introduce you to the 15 best books by Noam Chomsky that you must read.
Contents
- 1 Best Noam Chomsky Books
- 1.1 1. Hegemony Or Survival
- 1.2 2. Understanding Power
- 1.3 3. Profit Over People
- 1.4 4. Media Control
- 1.5 5. Who Rules the World?
- 1.6 6. Deterring Democracy
- 1.7 7. Fateful Triangle
- 1.8 8. The Culture of Terrorism
- 1.9 9. Manufacturing the Consent
- 1.10 10. Language and Mind
- 1.11 11. Gaza in Crisis- Reflection on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians
- 1.12 12. Syntactic Structures
- 1.13 13. Necessary Illusions
- 1.14 14. On Anarchism
- 1.15 15. The Responsibility of Intellectuals
- 1.16 16. On Palestine
- 1.17 Conclusion
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Best Noam Chomsky Books
1. Hegemony Or Survival
Hegemony Or Survival is a popular book by Noam Chomsky and it was published in 2003. The theme of the book is the domination of America and the way it tries to dominate the whole world with its foreign policies.The author has highlighted the foreign policies taken by America from the late 1950s till the early 2000s. He also criticized the involvement or the way America reacted to the nations like Afghanistan and Iran especially after the event of 9/11. He also uses examples of other nations and tense scenarios like the war of Vietnam. It’s a great book to read about the domination strategies of America.
2. Understanding Power
Understanding Power is another best book by Noam Chomsky that you should give a read. Here this book is a collection of previously unpublished transcripts of seminars, talks, and questions and answer sessions conducted by Noam Chomsky from 1989 to 1999.The books have been edited and the content has been assembled by Peter Mitchell and John Schoeffel. In these transcripts, Noam is talking about power and politics. The insightful discussions and diverse thoughts by Chomsky which has been published for the first time.Chomsky has evaluated the events that happened in three decades. Chomsky has also highlighted his views on the foreign policies of America.
3. Profit Over People
This book is another gem by Noam Chomsky that you must read. The book has been published in 1998 and revised in 2011.The class war has been a big issue in the history of America. Neoliberalism is the set of pro-corporate socio-economic and political policies that have shaped the class war across the globe.The author talks about the contradictions between the democratic and market principles. According to the author, there are two types of principles, one that is promoted and one that is used. He also talks about the policies that make up the market and how the riches can increase their wealth inexplicably. No one gives a thought about the other social classes and ecological consequences.Noam Chomsky has urged that people should be treated as citizens and they should be given every right other than just seeing them as consumers. He wants to treat the whole democracy and co corporate world as a movement than a market.
4. Media Control
This classic Noam Chomsky book was published in the year 2002. This one is a pretty popular book by him and with the ongoing scenarios in the world, this book seems like the best book to read.The book is short but holds valuable opinions and thoughts of the author on the subjects of war and the control and monopoly of opinion during these times. He talks about the two major models of democracy that involve the public. In one model the public is an active participant while in another the public is subject to manipulation and deceit.He talks about the media being used as a tool for propaganda and how the media plays a big role in manipulating public opinion. He talks about all this with the example of the Iraq War and the policies by George Bush. The book was been written with a good example and easy-to-read content that explains some very difficult things very easily. It is one of the best Noam Chomsky books to read.
5. Who Rules the World?
Who Rules the World? We might have asked this question to ourselves on several occasions. The book was published in 2016 and it is known as the most recent work by Noam Chomsky. He analysis the ongoing despairing scene on the world stage.The author has a witty take on several things and he talks about the government and how all the precedents are alike. There are movements when you will find some prophecies by the author about the future of the nation and the presidents. It’s a book with a lot to offer, so do read it sometime.
6. Deterring Democracy
Deterring Democracy is another top Noam Chomsky book that you should read sometime. The book was published in the year 1991. The book also features one of the favorite subjects of the author that is the foreign policies of America. He talks about the difference between humanitarian rhetoric and the imperialistic reality of the USA’s foreign policy. The author tries to tell us the effect of America’s policy on the other countries of the world.It talks about the goal of the USA to create unparalleled dominance over the whole world. The author has also expressed his concern about the American policies being an obstacle to the growth of other nations.
7. Fateful Triangle
Fateful Triangle is another brilliant work by Noam Chomsky and it was published in the year 1996. The book highlights the relation between the US, Israel, and Palestine. The author analyses the benefits of the other Arab nations and Palestine by this relationship between the US and Palestine.It focuses on the Lebanon War and Pro-Zionist propaganda of American Media. This whole fuss is somewhat benefiting the intellectuals of the USA out of the misunderstanding spreading in the country. The book was updated in 1999 and the author has included the recent events in these countries about the peace talks.
8. The Culture of Terrorism
The Culture of Terrorism was published in 1988 and it is considered one of the masterpieces by the author.The books are mostly about Iran – Contra Scandal. He has managed to put his views into words that will leave their marks on the readers. The author has received the highest level of appreciation from the critics as well as the readers.The author has expressed his opinion on the ongoing scenarios and the relations of the US with Iran. The author has also expressed his hopefulness about a solution and how the American people need to show their resistance.
9. Manufacturing the Consent
Manufacturing Consent is another popular book by Noam Chomsky that you should read. It is counted as one of the most influential works by the author.Chomsky expresses his views on the free press and how it can manipulate the truth over power. He states that the mass media of the US is a powerful and effective institute that carries out the system’s supportive propaganda function. Self-censorship and the reliance on the market forces are the propaganda model of communication.He argues that the media of the US are more likely to favor certain social agendas and issues over others and that is what he calls manipulation of consent. There is also a movie based on the book that you might be familiar with.
10. Language and Mind
Being linguistic, Noam Chomsky has contributed a lot to this field, and this book is a great example of that as well. He has done some groundbreaking revelation in the field of linguistics and given many linguistic theories as well. The book reflects the thinking of Noam Chomsky thinking.The readers would understand the linguistic background of the other. The book was published in 1968 and was updated in 1972 as the author has added three new essays to his previous work. It’s a great book by Noam Chomsky which you should read if you are interested in linguistics or the work of Noam Chomsky.
11. Gaza in Crisis- Reflection on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians
Gaza in Crisis was published in the year 2010 and it features a collection of essays and interviews with Noam Chomsky and Ian Pappe from the Israel Palestine conflict.The book has been written in different avatars and this one has tried to answer all the questions related to the conflict that requires some serious actions from not only the US but the leaders from the whole world. The book features so many different views on the ongoing tensions between Israel and Palestine and the involvement of the US in it.
12. Syntactic Structures
Synaptic Structure is another linguistic work by Noam Chomsky, he has written the book at the beginning of his career and it was published in 1957. The book features the views of Noam Chomsky on the idea of transformational Grammar.People have found the book as a tribute to the linguistics, English language, and grammar by Noam Chomsky. Although some people found his ideas a little controversial given the thoughts of traditional linguistics.
13. Necessary Illusions
Necessary Illusions is another top Noam Chomsky book that you should read. The book was published in 1989 and it was appreciated by the critics as well as readers. The book talks about the issue of is spreading the misinformation by the ruling party to remain in power. This act would only work in benefiting some selected people rather than the whole society.
14. On Anarchism
On Anarchism is another best Noam Chomsky book that was published in the year 2005. In this book, the author reflects his ideas and thoughts about power and tyranny. He expressed his disbelief in the popular ideologies that are deeply rooted in our history books.The book also features an autobiographical chapter of Noam Chomsky and why he become like this and why his thoughts in this way. Readers would also see the linguistic expertise of readers.
15. The Responsibility of Intellectuals
The Responsibility of Intellectuals was published in 1967. The book features the perfect piece of introduction piece to the moral drive behind Chomsky’s thinking. His work in this book, that is, the essays that he has written almost 50 years ago, are still relevant to the present reader.
16. On Palestine
Palestine consist of one of the favorite issues of the author that is the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the involvement of America in this conflict. The book also features the views of another Israeli author, Pappe.
Conclusion
So these are the best Noam Chomsky books that you must read. These books have been appreciated by the critics as well as the readers. More importantly, the books hold a unique perspective on some interesting and less talked about topics like war and politics. Thank you for visiting our page and we hope you found a couple of Noam Chomsky books to read next.
