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Propaganda and the Public Mind by David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky
Book Summary InformationAuthor: David Barsamian, Noam Chomsky Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2001-05 ISBN: 0896086348 Number of pages: 256 Publisher: South End Press
Book Reviews of Propaganda and the Public MindBook Review: Accessible, Enjoyable Chomsky (Who Would Have Thought?) Summary: 5 Stars
David Barsamian is the cult superhero/guru of informative underground radio. He has also been doing cool interviews with prominant Leftist (read: critical) intellecutuals like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn for a long time now. And thank god! Barsamian asks essential questions, and provides long-tenured intellectuals like Chomsky a venue for expressing their views in non-dissertation format. In other words, Barsamin gives us an accessible Chomsky, in plain, straight-forward, non-technical language. Who would have thought? If you are like me, and you always wanted to know what in the hell Chomsky is talking about (Try reading "The Culture of Terrorism"), this is your book. It even has a nice index with references, unlike some of his other books ("Profit Over People" has no footnotes for the first three chapters!!!). Lastly, this book also provides us with a sketch of Noam as human being. Apparently now that he is a grandfather, Chomsky has started spending time with young children and making appearances in public places, like baseball stadiums!!! Picture it: Chomsky consenting to sit for two hours without books, eat manufactured hotdogs and watch corporate-sponsered displays of wreckless, winner-take-all competition a la a Boston Red Sox game. A bit ironic, wouldn't you say? But as he says in the book, even hard-nosed intellectuals "need an annual breakout into the real world." Anyway, the book was enjoyable and engrossing. Definately worthy of being added to the canon. Issues it covers: Activism and public outcry against the MIA, as well as a description of what the MIA means (note: you can find a better description of the MIA and WTO challenge in David Suzuki's new book, "Good News"); history of America's involvement in East Timor; discussion of the land mines, agent organge, dioxin, and napalm (see Sandra Steingraber's "Living Downstream" for important scientific look at what dioxin actually does to the human body - rest assured it is not good); the privitization of the Internet; critique of modern economic theory; an analysis of international debt peonage; as usual, discussion of America's dirty roll in Guatamala and other Latin American coutries; analysis of intellecutual property/patenting rights (better discussed in "Against the Grain," by Lappe); critique of the Health Care system; interesting biographical information (e.g., he taught Hebrew out of his house in the early days); penetrating discussion of Amartya Sen's book, "The Black Book of Communism" (if Communism is responsible for 100 million deaths, how many deaths has capitalism claim?? -- very original stuff here); interesting facts about Plan Colombia (slightly different version of what he says in "Rogue States"); critique of the UN and Nato; discussion of the Isreal/Palestine issue (his unstated speciality); a critique of media propaganda and Freedom of Information Act (What freedom? What information?); critique of privitization (in schools, in the health industry, etc.); very fascinating analysis of "socialized risk" and "externalized debt," that is making the public pay for things it didn't purchase, ask for, or need in the first place; analysis of the meaning of Seatle Riots; and facts on American aid to genocidal or human-rights-violating nations, among other things.
Summary of Propaganda and the Public MindRenowned interviewer David Barsamian showcases his unique access to Chomky?s thinking on a number of topics of contemporary and historical import. In an interview conducted after the important November 1999 ?Battle in Seattle,? Chomsky discusses prospects for building a movement to challenge corporate domination of the media, the environment, and even our private lives. Chomsky also engages in a discussion of his ideas on language and mind, making his important linguistic insights accessible to the lay reader. Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a world-renowned linguist, philosopher, and political analyst. He writes extensively and lectures around the world on international affairs, U.S. foreign policy, and human rights. Chomsky has published 15 books with South End Press, including Rogue States: The Rule of Force in World Affairs. David Barsamian lives in Boulder, Colorado, and is the producer of the award-winning syndicated radio program, Alternative Radio. His interview books with luminaries such as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and Edward W. Said have sold in the hundreds of thousands of copies. Contents 1. Activist Victories 2. US to World: Get Out of the Way 3. For Reasons of State 4. East Timor on the Brink 5. The Meaning of Seattle 6. Liberating the Mind 7. Solidarity and Mutual Support Praise for Noam Chomsky "An exploder of received truths."-New York Times "Noam Chomsky is one of the most significant challengers of unjust power and delusions; he goes against every assumption about American altruism and huniatrianism."-Edward Said "Reading Chomsky is like standing in a wind tunnel. With relentless logic, Chomsky bids us to listen closely to what our leaders tell us--and to discern what they are leaving out...The questions Chomsky raises will eventually have to be answered. Agree with him or not, we lose out by not listening."-Business Week Praise for David Barsamian "David Barsamian is the Studs Terkel of our generation."-Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States "In con
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