
Making the Future
Occupations, Interventions, Empire and Resistance
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Narrated by:
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Peter Johnson
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By:
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Noam Chomsky
About this listen
Making the Future presents more than 50 concise and persuasively argued commentaries on U.S. politics and policies, written between 2007 and 2011.
Taken together, Chomsky's essays present a powerful counter-narrative to official accounts of the major political events of the past four years: the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; the U.S. presidential race; the ascendancy of China; Latin America's leftward turn; the threat of nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea; Israel's invasion of Gaza and expansion of settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank; developments in climate change; the world financial crisis; the Arab Spring; the assassination of Osama bin Laden; and the Occupy protests. Laced throughout his critiques are expressions of commitment to democracy and the power of popular struggles. "Progressive legislation and social welfare," writes Chomsky, "have been won by popular struggles, not gifts from above. Those struggles follow a cycle of success and setback. They must be waged every day, not just once every four years, always with the goal of creating a genuinely responsive democratic society, from the voting booth to the workplace.
©2012 Noam Chomsky (P)2012 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Interventions, by Noam Chomsky, is getting new press after the Pentagon banned the book from Guantanamo Bay's prison library. Interventions is Noam Chomsky at his best. Not since his all-time best-selling title, 9/11, published in the Open Media series in 2001, have readers and listeners had a timely, short, affordable Chomsky. Unlike 9/11, Interventions is a writerly work - a series of more than 30 tightly argued essays aimed at various aspects of U.S. power and politics in the post-9/11 world. While critical of U.S. military interventions around the globe, each piece in the book is in itself an intellectual intervention.
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Chomsky on Fire
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Powers and Prospects
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From the nature of democracy to our place in the natural world, from intellectual politics to the politics of language, Powers and Prospects provides a scathing critique of orthodox views and government policy and outlines other paths that can lead to better understanding and more constructive action.
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Imperial Ambitions
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In this important program of interviews conducted by award-winning radio journalist David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky discusses America's policies in the increasingly unstable world. With his famous insight, lucidity, and redoubtable grasp of history, Chomsky offers his views on the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the doctrine of "preemptive" strikes against so-called rogue states, and the prospects of the second Bush administration, warning of the growing threat to international peace posed by the U.S. drive for domination.
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Very good
- By Ahmed on 09-29-05
By: Noam Chomsky
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Rogue States
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Noam Chomsky argues that, contrary to popular perception, the real "rogue" states in the world today are not the dictator-led developing countries we hear about in the news but the United States and its allies. He challenges the legal and humanitarian reasons given to justify intervention in global conflicts in order to reveal the West's reliance on the rule of force. He examines NATO's intervention in Kosovo, the crisis in East Timor, and US involvement in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
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GADFLY
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 02-25-16
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On Power and Ideology
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Performance
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The arguments are concise, and the information is overwhelming. The first two lectures examine the persistent and largely invariant features of foreign policy, the overall framework of order. The third discusses Central America and its foreign policy pattern. The fourth looks at national security and the arms race. And the fifth examines US domestic policy.
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Eye opening
- By Alex on 08-22-15
By: Noam Chomsky
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On Western Terrorism - New Edition: From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare (Chomsky Perspectives)
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- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Admired by some, condemned by others, and feared by all - the military might of the West is undeniably colossal. In On Western Terrorism, world-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky discusses Western power and propaganda with filmmaker and investigative journalist Andre Vltchek. It offers the perfect introduction to Chomsky’s significant political thought and provides an accessible approach for anyone who wishes to better understand the West’s fraught role in the world.
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uncover the .we have a world theives .
- By Samuel C Taylor on 10-23-22
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
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Interventions
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Peter Johnson
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Interventions, by Noam Chomsky, is getting new press after the Pentagon banned the book from Guantanamo Bay's prison library. Interventions is Noam Chomsky at his best. Not since his all-time best-selling title, 9/11, published in the Open Media series in 2001, have readers and listeners had a timely, short, affordable Chomsky. Unlike 9/11, Interventions is a writerly work - a series of more than 30 tightly argued essays aimed at various aspects of U.S. power and politics in the post-9/11 world. While critical of U.S. military interventions around the globe, each piece in the book is in itself an intellectual intervention.
-
-
Chomsky on Fire
- By Susie on 01-09-13
By: Noam Chomsky
-
Powers and Prospects
- Reflections on Human Nature and the Social Order
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the nature of democracy to our place in the natural world, from intellectual politics to the politics of language, Powers and Prospects provides a scathing critique of orthodox views and government policy and outlines other paths that can lead to better understanding and more constructive action.
By: Noam Chomsky
-
Imperial Ambitions
- Conversations on the Post-9/11 World (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Noam Chomsky, David Barsamian
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this important program of interviews conducted by award-winning radio journalist David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky discusses America's policies in the increasingly unstable world. With his famous insight, lucidity, and redoubtable grasp of history, Chomsky offers his views on the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the doctrine of "preemptive" strikes against so-called rogue states, and the prospects of the second Bush administration, warning of the growing threat to international peace posed by the U.S. drive for domination.
-
-
Very good
- By Ahmed on 09-29-05
By: Noam Chomsky
-
Rogue States
- The Rule of Force in World Affairs
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Noam Chomsky argues that, contrary to popular perception, the real "rogue" states in the world today are not the dictator-led developing countries we hear about in the news but the United States and its allies. He challenges the legal and humanitarian reasons given to justify intervention in global conflicts in order to reveal the West's reliance on the rule of force. He examines NATO's intervention in Kosovo, the crisis in East Timor, and US involvement in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
-
-
GADFLY
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 02-25-16
By: Noam Chomsky
-
On Power and Ideology
- The Managua Lectures
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The arguments are concise, and the information is overwhelming. The first two lectures examine the persistent and largely invariant features of foreign policy, the overall framework of order. The third discusses Central America and its foreign policy pattern. The fourth looks at national security and the arms race. And the fifth examines US domestic policy.
-
-
Eye opening
- By Alex on 08-22-15
By: Noam Chomsky
-
On Western Terrorism - New Edition: From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare (Chomsky Perspectives)
- By: Noam Chomsky, Andre Vltchek
- Narrated by: Margy Stein
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Admired by some, condemned by others, and feared by all - the military might of the West is undeniably colossal. In On Western Terrorism, world-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky discusses Western power and propaganda with filmmaker and investigative journalist Andre Vltchek. It offers the perfect introduction to Chomsky’s significant political thought and provides an accessible approach for anyone who wishes to better understand the West’s fraught role in the world.
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uncover the .we have a world theives .
- By Samuel C Taylor on 10-23-22
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
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Between Thought and Expression Lies a Lifetime
- Why Ideas Matter
- By: James Kelman, Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This exhilarating collection of essays, interviews, and correspondence—spanning the years 1988 through 2018, and reaching back a decade more—is about the simple concept that ideas matter. They mutate, inform, create fuel for thought, and inspire actions. As Kelman says, the State relies on our suffocation, that we cannot hope to learn the truth. But whether we can or not is beside the point. We must grasp the nettle, we assume control and go forward.
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As expected it is smart and bold
- By Yuri on 09-21-23
By: James Kelman, and others
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On Anarchism
- By: Noam Chomsky, Nathan Schneider - introduction
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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On Anarchism provides the reasoning behind Noam Chomsky's fearless lifelong questioning of the legitimacy of entrenched power. In these essays, Chomsky redeems one of the most maligned ideologies, anarchism, and places it at the foundation of his political thinking. Chomsky's anarchism is distinctly optimistic and egalitarian. Moreover, it is a living, evolving tradition that is situated in a historical lineage; Chomsky's anarchism emphasizes the power of collective, rather than individualist, action.
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Hit and Miss
- By Jacob King on 06-18-14
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
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On Palestine
- By: Noam Chomsky, Ilan Pappe
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Operation Protective Edge, Israel's 2014 assault on Gaza, left thousands of Palestinians dead and cleared the way for another Israeli land grab. The need to stand in solidarity with Palestinians has never been greater. Ilan Pappe and Noam Chomsky, two leading voices in the struggle to liberate Palestine, discuss the road ahead for Palestinians and how the international community can pressure Israel to end its human rights abuses against the people of Palestine.
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Excellent Introduction/101 Level Book
- By Anonymous User on 10-24-23
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
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Who Rules the World?
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In an incisive, thorough analysis of the current international situation, Noam Chomsky argues that the United States, through its military-first policies and its unstinting devotion to maintaining a world-spanning empire, is both risking catastrophe and wrecking the global commons.
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UNLISTENABLE
- By Scott on 10-26-16
By: Noam Chomsky
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Pirates and Emperors, Old and New
- International Terrorism in the Real World
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Pirates and Emperors is a brilliant exploration of the role of the United States in the Middle East that exposes how the media manipulates public opinion about what constitutes "terrorism". Chomsky masterfully argues that appreciating the differences between state terror and nongovernmental terror is crucial to stopping terrorism and understanding why atrocities like the bombing of the World Trade Center and the killing of the Charlie Hebdo journalists happen.
By: Noam Chomsky
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Taming the Rascal Multitude
- Essays, Interviews, and Lectures 1997-2014
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Michael Albert, Donald Corren
- Length: 19 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Taming the Rascal Multitude is a judicious selection of essays and interviews from Z Magazine from 1997 to 2014. In each, Chomsky takes up some question of the moment. As such, in sum, the essays provide a historical overview of the history that preceded Trump and the reaction to Trump. The essays situate what followed even without having known what would follow. They explicate what preceded the current era and provide a step-by-step revelation, or how-to, for successfully comprehending social events and relations.
By: Noam Chomsky
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Hegemony or Survival
- America's Quest for Global Dominance
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones, Noam Chomsky
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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For more than half a century, the United States has been pursuing a grand imperial strategy with the aim of staking out the globe. Our leaders have shown themselves willing, as in the Cuban missile crisis, to follow the dream of dominance no matter how high the risks. Now the Bush administration is intensifying this process, driving us toward the final frontiers of imperial control, toward a choice between the prerogatives of power and a livable Earth.
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Read and open your mind
- By Rupert on 01-15-04
By: Noam Chomsky
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Because We Say So
- City Lights Open Media Series
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Because We Say So presents more than 30 concise, forceful commentaries on US politics and global power. Written between 2011 and 2015, Noam Chomsky's arguments forge a persuasive counternarrative to official accounts of US politics and policies during global crisis.
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An antidote against American ignorance
- By jksc2011 on 05-08-16
By: Noam Chomsky
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The Culture of Terrorism
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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This scathing critique of US political culture is a brilliant analysis of the Iran-Contra scandal. Chomsky offers a message of hope, reminding us resistance is possible.
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Chomsky's prescient history of Reagan's terror
- By Michael Friedman on 02-03-16
By: Noam Chomsky
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Necessary Illusions
- Thought Control in Democratic Societies
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
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In his 1988 CBC Massey Lecture, Noam Chomsky inquires into the nature of the media in a political system where the population cannot be disciplined by force and thus must be subjected to more subtle forms of ideological control. Specific cases are illustrated in detail, using the U.S. media primarily but also media in other societies.
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Seminal work ruined by a terrible performance.
- By R. Kuprov on 04-14-17
By: Noam Chomsky
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Consequences of Capitalism
- Manufacturing Discontent and Resistance
- By: Noam Chomsky, Marv Waterstone
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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How do politics shape our world, our lives, and our perceptions? How much of “common sense” is actually driven by the ruling class’ needs and interests? And how are we to challenge the capitalist structures that now threaten all life on the planet? Consequences of Capitalism exposes the deep, often unseen, connections between neoliberal “common sense” and structural power. In making these linkages, we see how the current hegemony keeps social justice movements divided and marginalized. And, most importantly, we see how we can fight to overcome these divisions.
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Everyone must read this book.
- By Lydia M. Prado on 02-03-21
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
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The Essential Chomsky
- By: Noam Chomsky, Anthony Arnove - editor
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 22 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In a single volume, the seminal writings of the world's leading philosopher, linguist, and critic, published to coincide with his 80th birthday. For the past 40 years Noam Chomsky's writings on politics and language have established him as a preeminent public intellectual and as one of the most original and wide-ranging political and social critics of our time. Among the seminal figures in linguistic theory over the past century, since the 1960s Chomsky has also secured a place as perhaps the leading dissident voice in the United States.
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Hard to listen to after the first hour
- By Thomas Dargan on 05-02-16
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
Critic reviews
What listeners say about Making the Future
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- Tim
- 02-02-14
Read More Chomsky
I'm a bit embarrassed that "Making the Future" is my first introduction of Noam Chomsky. I like politics, but don't really enjoy following it on the news because I find that most TV hosts express their views too much, where it becomes a rant. Reading Chomsky's views of the future is refreshing. Instead of beating the audience with a stick on personal rhetoric, Chomsky gives the reader enough space to come to their own conclusion and then comment to his theories. I need to read a lot more of Noam Chomsky to expand my views on what is going on beyond my cross streets..
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1 person found this helpful
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- Susie
- 01-04-13
Fifty-Two Reasons to Listen to Chomsky
Grasping the data, and using uncompromising logic, Chomsky offers a counter-narrative to the rah-rah mock distress of mainstream reportage on U.S. foreign policy--"We had no choice but to go in there, we have to support these dictators to spread freedom."
Afghanistan, Israel, global melting, the recession-- you'll recognize every current headline as well as less-talked-about conflicts in Somalia, and Georgia.
One of the reasons Chomsky's writing is so meaningful to his readers is that he never fails to relish the alternative. He has his eyes set on those who are trying— and winning— their battle against corporate hegemony. He groks the daily triumphs and insights, not the ceremonies and awards.
If you FEEL the dissonance between what you hear in the news vs. what you see in front of you— start here to find out why.
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19 people found this helpful
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- 54ibew46
- 02-21-13
an aquired taste
Having read Chompsky's first book of essays ('American Power and the New Mandarans") when I was 19, now reading this collection when I'm 48, I find the first experience of having my mind blown a hard act to follow. Much of what Chompsky has to say is better laid out in his longer books, when he can really direct his intellect into one subject and throughly shake it out. I find the Op-Ed style dispatches just more current event review.
Now, for slice of life snapshots on history, I found myself marveling over the last ten years essays covers, and the truely tumultuous era we has just survived. So much has happened that it really takes a rendering of history as Chompsky tells it to take it in, being there was just not enough.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sam Motes
- 01-23-14
Looking back to move forward
Should be called making the future by looking at the past. It is a collection of articles by Chomsky from roughly 2008 - 2011. Some interesting insight but was looking for fresher views from Chomsky on how we need to make our future.
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- James
- 01-26-14
A dramatically different view of the world...
If you could sum up Making the Future in three words, what would they be?
If you want to see the world from a "different perspective", then you must read this book. It will challenge your perceptions. Norm Chomsky may be wrong. But he is also very smart and just sees the world differently.
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- John
- 07-13-15
Excellent
Chomsky's op-eds for the New York Times are thoughtful and well-written. They are short, in-depth essays on topics that were current between 2006 and 2011. The book ends with an address Chomsky gave to the Occupy Movement in Boston. Chomsky is a wonderful antidote to the right-wing propaganda that floods mainstream media in the west.
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- jon
- 03-29-14
Repeat much?
What disappointed you about Making the Future?
This book was supposed to be a collection of Chomsky's articles. I guess that this is technically correct, but you will find the collection is very repetitive. After you have heard one article you have heard them all.
Any additional comments?
Pass on this. Read Nemesis instead. That was worth the time.
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- Alan
- 09-07-13
Reader Ruined the Book
My greatest objection to the book is the reader's dreadful performance. In my opinion, his reading was entirely mechanical. What small changes there were in the reader's tone and inflection came at regular intervals, like expansion joints in a highway, regardless of the content or meaning of the text. It was like watching the same 15-second video clip over, and over, and over again. The reading obliterated the nuances of Chomsky's text and obscured Chomsky's subtle arguments. Moreover, the reader's voice was not pleasant to my ears.
Unless you are a news junkie and policy wonk, the issues Chomsky discusses are terribly dated. The middle years of the last decade and the 2008 American presidential elections seem as distant as the 1850s.
In a fawning foreword, the writer strangely chooses to portray Chomsky as a sort of intellectual track star, a man on fast forward who meets deadlines, churns out articles and gives speeches like a champion athlete setting a new world record. I'm less interested the Chomsky's gee-whiz quotient than I am in his ideas and arguments and, more importantly, the changes - if any - they've wrought in the real world.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Cindy
- 12-20-23
Biased exaggeration
I could not complete because author is self righteous and makes complex situations seem “simple” in his mind. Not sure where he lives but he clearly hates the United States. I listen to varying viewpoints and always learn new ways of looking at things. Nothing to learn from this book but hatred of the US.
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