Chomsky for Beginners

by David Cogswell

Other authorsPaul Gordon (Illustrator)
Paperback, 1996

Status

Available

Call number

320

Collection

Publication

Writers & Readers Publishing (1996), Edition: First Printing, Paperback, 153 pages

Description

History. Politics. Nonfiction. HTML: Noam Chomsky has written some 30 books, he is one of the most-quoted authors on Earth, The New York Times calls him "arguably the most important intellectual alive" �?? yet most people have no idea who he is or what he's about.Chomsky For Beginners tells you what he's about: Chomsky is known for his work in two distinct areas �?? Linguistics and... "Gadflying." ("Gadfly," the word applied to Socrates, comes closest to the constant social irritant that Chomsky has become.) It is Chomsky's work as Political Gadfly and Media Critic that has given passion and hope to the general public �?? and alienated the Major Media �?? which is, of course, why you don't know more about him. Chomsky's message is very simple: Huge corporations run our country, the world, both political parties, and Major Media. (You suspected it; Chomsky proves it.) If enough people open their minds to what he has to say, the whole gingerbread fantasy we've been fed about America might turn into a real democracy. What's so special about Chomsky For Beginners? The few existing intros to Chomsky cover either Chomsky-the-Linguist or Chomsky-the-Political-Gadfly. Chomsky For Beginners covers both �?? plus an exclusive interview with the maverick genius. The clarity of David Cogwell's text and the wit of Paul Gordon's illustrations make Chomsky as easy to understand as the genius next door. Words and art are combined to clarify (but not oversimplify) the work and to "humanize" the man who may very well be what one savvy interviewer called him �?? "the smartest man on… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
I really rate the 'for Beginners' series. This might come as quite a shock to people who know me because, I have been known to be pretty disparaging about the entire genre of 'graphic books'. This is a further proof of my fallibility. This series takes serious topics, such as Noam Chomsky, and
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explains them in simple, but not childish, terms.

For most people, the broad brush view is sufficient but, if one wishes to go further, these books are an ideal springboard to introduce the subject. I will certainly continue reading the works of Chomsky and will do so with added understanding of the man and his beliefs.

In a mere 150 pages, much of which are taken up by cartoons (some humorous, all enlightening), I am astounded by the amount of information included. The reader gets a biography of Chomsky, details of his work in the field of linguistics and his political commentaries. I believe that the reason that these books are so effective is that, whilst they include a host of drawings, the writing is incredibly tight. There are more facts per paragraph than one could consume, were the text not broken up in some way. Standard text books use waffle to surround the detail; these books use pictures. I am not saying that every book should be produced in such a format but, for this series, it is a concept which definitely works. I shall be adding more of these works to my library.
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Language

Original language

English

Physical description

153 p.; 8.9 inches

ISBN

9780863162336
Page: 0.5656 seconds