READINGS BY CHOMSKY
The Essential Chomsky
- A collection of his best articles.
Understanding Power
- A selection of Chomsky’s interviews on everything from linguistics to anarchism.
American Power and the New Mandarins
- Chomsky's first political book, including his take on the Spanish Revolution.
The Fateful Triangle
- The classic analysis of the USA’s relationship with Israel and the Palestinians.
Manufacturing Consent
- Another classic, this time on the US media.
Year 501
- A damning history of US imperialism.
Hegemony or Survival
- Chomsky’s view of US foreign policy at the time of the disastrous occupation of Iraq. Hugo Chavez displayed this book during his 2006 speech at the UN.
After the Cataclysm
- Probably Chomsky’s most controversial book. (For a critique of this book see: ‘Chomsky on Cambodia’. For Chomsky’s response to his critics, see: Steven Lukes’ website. For further clarification of Chomsky’s reluctance to criticise national liberation movements, see his 1974 comment about the London Solidarity group.)
The Architecture of Language
- A short summary of Chomsky’s linguistics.
The Science of Language
- The clearest exposition of Chomsky’s latest theories on language and philosophy. (For a critique, see: Journal of Linguistics, 'A 'Galilean' Science of language' by Christina Behme.)
Zellig Harris’ influence on Chomsky was ‘enormous’. Harris is pictured here, left, beside his friend, the council-communist Paul Mattick. Chomsky had many discussions with Mattick but considered him ‘too orthodox a Marxist for my tastes’.
READINGS ABOUT CHOMSKY
Noam Chomsky, A Life of Dissent - Robert Barsky
- The most thorough biography of Chomsky.
Chomsky: Ideas and Ideals- Neil Smith
- The most thorough summary of Chomsky’s linguistics.
‘Chomsky on the Nod’ - Bob Black
- A harsh critique of Chomsky by the polemical anarchist author.
‘Language, Mind and Society’ - Brian Bamford
- Did Chomsky have this issue of the anarchist journal, The Raven, banned? Decide for yourself.
‘The Interpreter’ - John Colapinto
- An useful journalistic introduction to the most recent controversies in the ‘language wars’.
‘There is No Language Instinct’ - Yvyvan Evans
- A clear description of what some linguists believe is wrong with Chomskyan linguistics. (Evans’ recent book, The Language Myth, goes into more detail.)
Decoding Chomsky - science and revolutionary politics - Chris Knight