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Noam Chomsky is universally accepted as one of the preeminent public intellectuals of the modern era.  Over the past thirty years, broadly diverse audiences have gathered to attend his sold-out lectures.  Now, in Understanding Power, Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel have assembled the best of Chomsky's talks on the past, present, and future of the politics of power. 

In a series of enlightening and wide-ranging discussions--published here for the first time--Chomsky radically reinterprets the events of the past three decades, covering topics from foreign policy during the Vietnam War to the decline of welfare under the Clinton administration.  And as he elucidates the connection between America's imperialistic foreign policy and social inequalities at home, Chomsky also discerns the necessary steps to take toward social change.  With an eye to political activism and the media's role in popular struggle, as well as U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Understanding Power is definitive Chomsky.

Characterized by Chomsky's accessible and informative style, Understanding Power is the ideal book for those new to his work as well as for those who have been listening for years.

Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel are public defenders in New York City.

PRAISE FOR UNDERSTANDING POWER
“The most comprehensive overview of Chomsky’s political thought ever available.” —Quality Paperback Book Club

"Arguably the most important intellectual alive." -The New York Times

“It is impossible to do justice to the full range of Chomsky’s thought as revealed in this huge collection. I urge anyone with an interest in world affairs to read it.” —Canberra Times

“There are few books that offer such profound insights into the many ills that plague the contemporary world.” —Newcastle Herald, Australia

“If readers have been too overwhelmed to pick up a Chomsky book before, then now is the time. This is a user-friendly examination of Chomsky’s lectures over 30 years and the factors that could have contributed to the events of September 11.” —Herald Sun, Australia

“A useful and wide-ranging introduction to [Chomsky’s] analysis of power and media in the West.” —Publishers Weekly

"Noam Chomsky... is a major scholarly resource.  Not to have read [him] is to court genuine ignorance." -The Nation

"Chomsky ranks with Marx, Shakespeare, and the Bible as one of the ten most quoted sources in the humanities." -The Guardian