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Understanding Power cover art

Understanding Power

Written by: Noam Chomsky, John Schoeffel - editor, Peter R. Mitchell - editor
Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth
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Publisher's Summary

A major new collection from "arguably the most important intellectual alive" (The New York Times). Noam Chomsky is universally accepted as one of the preeminent public intellectuals of the modern era. Over the past thirty years, broadly diverse audiences have gathered to attend his sold-out lectures. Now, in Understanding Power, Peter Mitchell and John Schoeffel have assembled the best of Chomsky's recent talks on the past, present, and future of the politics of power.

In a series of enlightening and wide-ranging discussions, all published here for the first time, Chomsky radically reinterprets the events of the past three decades, covering topics from foreign policy during Vietnam to the decline of welfare under the Clinton administration. And as he elucidates the connection between America's imperialistic foreign policy and the decline of domestic social services, Chomsky also discerns the necessary steps to take toward social change. With an eye to political activism and the media's role in popular struggle, as well as U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Understanding Power offers a sweeping critique of the world around us and is definitive Chomsky. Characterized by Chomsky's accessible and informative style, this is the ideal book for those new to his work as well as for those who have been listening for years.

©2002 Noam Chomsky, Peter Rounds Mitchell, and John Schoeffel (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Understanding Power

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  • Overall
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Incisive

Incisive analysis by Chomsky, as always. Old issues but commentary that is still relevant to America’s present-day indiscretion

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gr8 narrator! gr8 content!

First off, the narrator simply SLAYS IT. His performance is beyond wicked, it is downright killer. Great job, honestly, truly great job.

As for the content, this book should be required reading for all school kids aged 12 to 18. It should be mandatory reading for all university students as well. This is one of the greatest collection of words, ideas, sentiments that I have yet come across.

Just for the record, during the global pandemic when millions died and billions were effected, Jeff Bezos who owns Audible flew to space on a joy ride. I hope his family line extinguishes for this. This book exposes exactly what 'people' like Bezos are all about.

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Essential

An intellectual everyone can understand, with arguments you can understand and spread. This book would be good if you want to sway a right-leaning working class person

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Good compilation. Not good narration.

This is a good lightly edited collection of Chomsky’s political thought. A good entry point.

The narrator doesn’t know how to pronounce a lot of the names though, which is a little distracting: from rather frequently occurring ones (pronouncing ‘Noam’ to rhyme with ‘Tom’), to rather less frequent but still surprising ones (for instance putting stress on the ‘e’ in ‘Kaynesian’).

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1 person found this helpful

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great book with fantastic narration

highly informative content. high quality narration. a very interesting and informative listening experience. highly recommended

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Absolutely Relevant

Engaging and educational. this is something you can listen to in 2020 and its every bit as true and motivating as it was in 2002 or 2014. Piercing and brutally honest.

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Truly essential Chomsky

If you've ever come across a Noam Chomsky quote that seemed to speak to you on some level, this book is a must-read. You will establish an understanding of Noam's life experience being a deliberate part of a shunned intellectual culture in one of the more ideologically regressive countries of our time. That may not make much sense to you now, but trust me, it will once you've finished this title. He's often regarded as "one of the most important thinkers of our time", he's well deserving of the title. Be awed at the veracity and breadth of this mans knowledge of the happenings of the 20th and 21st century. He has been alive for all of America's time as a world superpower, and has watched the growth and development of the current political, intellectual and sociological climate we live in. He's never afraid to say what he thinks, despite that content limiting his audience and appeal to the media. He's someone to truly look up to, for all the right reasons, and this book will help audiences interested see the world through his brilliant mind. #Audible1

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Hauntingly Accurate

The last three chapters are pretty much a description of the way things are today - except they came from talks that were given almost thirty years ago. Really essential reading.

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thoroughly enjoyed it.

when though it is dated (70's - 99), he points out a mindset and method of governance that can be more easily identity what is happened today, twenty years later. it is truly indispensable.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Struggled to get through it.

(Gloomy and arrogant) apocalyptic preaching rarely comes to fruition. This is no exception.
The narration is painful to listen to - why they couldn’t have an actual woman reading the women’s questions instead of the narrator making a pathetic attempt to sound like a female is beyond me.

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