Noam Chomsky

by Wolfgang B. Sperlich

"The intellectual tradition is one of servility to power, and if I didn't betray it I'd be ashamed of myself." This declaration by Noam Chomsky exemplifies the uncompromising radicalism that has long defined his life and work. A linguist, philosopher, prolific author, and political activist, Chomsky is one of the most influential Western intellectuals of the last half-century. Yet it is this very capaciousness that biographers and interpreters have...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1861892691
• ISBN13: 9781861892690
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.8" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Concise and insightful in true literati style

"High thoughts must have high language." -- Aristophanes Few of us have time to read an entire encyclopedia, and if anyone's life could fill one, it's Chomsky's. It must have been a huge undertaking to write an introductory book on such a complex figure. Chomsky is primarily a linguist, but it is his controversial philosophical and political views that make him a household name. The trouble is, although so many of us know he is important, few of us know just why. This book comes to the rescue, unveiling the events that made the man whilst delving into his psyche. To dumb down the subject would hardly be appropriate for anyone interested in Chomsky. Readers will thus be pleased to find the author freely expresses himself in true literati style. The academic rigour provokes much insightful discussion, and yet the subject is kept highly accessibile: there are interesting explanations on linguistics, and we learn about major figures in Chomsky's life, such as Orwell and Russell. A linear account of his life is followed by a look at his contributions to linguistics and philosophy, and his consequent influence on politics and his relationship with the media -- all in a comprehensive 160 pages