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Simply Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia in 1928 to Jewish immigrant parents who were both educators. His parents were mainstream liberals, but through relatives, Chomsky was exposed at an early age to socialism and other progressive ideas that shaped his politics. After earning his Ph.D. in theoretical linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania in 1955 and a fellowship at Harvard University, Chomsky became a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His first book, Syntactic Structures, published in 1957 and now considered a classic, not only shook up the study of linguistics, but also had a profound effect on philosophy and psychology, and laid the groundwork for the field of cognitive science. In the 1960s, Chomsky took part in protests against the Vietnam War and began writing the articles that initiated his other career as a public dissident and political thinker. Over the course of the next 60 years, Chomsky would continue to be a major voice in both areas, embodying a lifelong commitment to intellectual exploration, freedom of thought, and human rights.
In Simply Chomsky, Professor Raphael Salkie provides a compact, user-friendly introduction to Noam Chomsky’s political activism and his groundbreaking work in linguistics. Unlike most Chomsky studies, Prof. Salkie not only covers the essentials of Chomsky’s thought and accomplishments, but also explores his most recent concerns—including the climate crisis, the threat of nuclear holocaust, and current geopolitical hotspots—which are often very different from the topics that preoccupied him decades ago.
For students of linguistics, for those interested in U.S. foreign policy, and for anyone concerned about the enormous problems facing the world, Simply Chomsky will be exhilarating and thought-provoking reading. Noam Chomsky has spent his life challenging widely accepted assumptions and beliefs and has made an indelible mark on world affairs and human thought. Simply Chomsky offers a special opportunity to find out more about this remarkable and always engaging contrarian thinker.
In Simply Chomsky, Professor Raphael Salkie provides a compact, user-friendly introduction to Noam Chomsky’s political activism and his groundbreaking work in linguistics. Unlike most Chomsky studies, Prof. Salkie not only covers the essentials of Chomsky’s thought and accomplishments, but also explores his most recent concerns—including the climate crisis, the threat of nuclear holocaust, and current geopolitical hotspots—which are often very different from the topics that preoccupied him decades ago.
For students of linguistics, for those interested in U.S. foreign policy, and for anyone concerned about the enormous problems facing the world, Simply Chomsky will be exhilarating and thought-provoking reading. Noam Chomsky has spent his life challenging widely accepted assumptions and beliefs and has made an indelible mark on world affairs and human thought. Simply Chomsky offers a special opportunity to find out more about this remarkable and always engaging contrarian thinker.
178 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 13, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 15, 2021
There’s a reason this book has had no reviews until mine. Several reasons, maybe.
This is my third of these Simply biographies and I’m still not in love. I love the concept, sure, succinct bios of important historical figures done by experts, but the execution consistently leaves something to be desired.
Granted, I’m not a huge biography reader, but have read enough to know what works for me and these ones aren’t really it. Maybe because the authors are condensing too much into these slim volumes or maybe because of how they are going about it or (likely) it’s the authors themselves, but these books always come across as lectures and not always the most exciting or engaging ones. And sure, as a dedicated autodidact, mainly I read nonfiction for information and these books are indeed very informative, but as a reader, a person who reads for pleasure, I can’t help but notice the shortcomings here.
This book is done by a preeminent Chomsky scholar, someone who has written about the man decades ago and, presumably, much more expansively, and now came back with this, a reader’s digest version of Chomsky’s life. I don’t know this author, but the tone…the tone of this book is so pretentious and pedantic, it’s difficult to take at times.
It’s also very opinionated, which can be good…if you like the author. When the author writes things…approximate quote…about how much the media circuses put him off even as a child, it’s just screams of a certain type of personality, doesn’t it. It isn’t all like that, there are even humorous attempts here, but overall the presentation is severely biased and skewed.
Prior to reading this book, Chomsky to me was a famous linguist and, since I’m very interested in linguistics, I figured this would be a good book to read. Well, apparently Chomsky is also a very outspoken political pundit with a libertarian/socialist lean and great many opinions of great many things. Well educated, well world traveled and well informed opinions, but nevertheless very, shall we say, divisive. Some more difficult to agree with than others. Some flat out contrary. A proper American patriot, especially the recent breed of the MAGA variety would likely take a huge umbrage reading Chomsky. But then again, I can’t imagine such a person would…or even would be able to define umbrage out of context, for that matter.
Either way, for purely educational purposes I learned a lot. Did I like the things I learned about Chomsky? Not especially, no. But there was some food for thought there. Did I like the writing of this book? Not especially, no, but it was serviceable.
The author has managed to insert so much of his personality into it that it kind of obliterated some of his subject’s, in fact you don’t get to learn a lot about Chomsky as a person at all, just as a thinker and a linguist. Was this an overly fond bio? Oh yes, absolutely. The author loves his Chomsky. Lives that love. Propagandas to that extent, practically.
Should you read this book? Can’t say. Do you like being talked down to by an elderly socialist professor? You do get to learn things about a significant and controversial figure, so there’s that, whether that’s enough is a matter of personal preference. Thanks Netgalley.
This is my third of these Simply biographies and I’m still not in love. I love the concept, sure, succinct bios of important historical figures done by experts, but the execution consistently leaves something to be desired.
Granted, I’m not a huge biography reader, but have read enough to know what works for me and these ones aren’t really it. Maybe because the authors are condensing too much into these slim volumes or maybe because of how they are going about it or (likely) it’s the authors themselves, but these books always come across as lectures and not always the most exciting or engaging ones. And sure, as a dedicated autodidact, mainly I read nonfiction for information and these books are indeed very informative, but as a reader, a person who reads for pleasure, I can’t help but notice the shortcomings here.
This book is done by a preeminent Chomsky scholar, someone who has written about the man decades ago and, presumably, much more expansively, and now came back with this, a reader’s digest version of Chomsky’s life. I don’t know this author, but the tone…the tone of this book is so pretentious and pedantic, it’s difficult to take at times.
It’s also very opinionated, which can be good…if you like the author. When the author writes things…approximate quote…about how much the media circuses put him off even as a child, it’s just screams of a certain type of personality, doesn’t it. It isn’t all like that, there are even humorous attempts here, but overall the presentation is severely biased and skewed.
Prior to reading this book, Chomsky to me was a famous linguist and, since I’m very interested in linguistics, I figured this would be a good book to read. Well, apparently Chomsky is also a very outspoken political pundit with a libertarian/socialist lean and great many opinions of great many things. Well educated, well world traveled and well informed opinions, but nevertheless very, shall we say, divisive. Some more difficult to agree with than others. Some flat out contrary. A proper American patriot, especially the recent breed of the MAGA variety would likely take a huge umbrage reading Chomsky. But then again, I can’t imagine such a person would…or even would be able to define umbrage out of context, for that matter.
Either way, for purely educational purposes I learned a lot. Did I like the things I learned about Chomsky? Not especially, no. But there was some food for thought there. Did I like the writing of this book? Not especially, no, but it was serviceable.
The author has managed to insert so much of his personality into it that it kind of obliterated some of his subject’s, in fact you don’t get to learn a lot about Chomsky as a person at all, just as a thinker and a linguist. Was this an overly fond bio? Oh yes, absolutely. The author loves his Chomsky. Lives that love. Propagandas to that extent, practically.
Should you read this book? Can’t say. Do you like being talked down to by an elderly socialist professor? You do get to learn things about a significant and controversial figure, so there’s that, whether that’s enough is a matter of personal preference. Thanks Netgalley.
March 16, 2024
Great concept, poor execution. The main flaw for me was the problem of the author putting himself centre stage rather than letting Chomsky speak for himself. He was rather too eager to express his own opinions –not just about Chomsky, whom he obviously admires – about the issues that Chomsky is concerned with. The book meanders from topic to topic with no clear narrative strategy – or not one that I could fathom anyway. Making Chomsky simple is never going to be an easy task, but this book pretty much failed for me, and I don’t feel much wiser than I did before I started it.
March 12, 2024
An able introduction to Noam Chomsky if you have no idea who he is and what he is all about. I especially like the measured assessment of Chomsky as a linguist.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews