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Summary: A Question
Review: Hey, Noam, if you hate the military-industrial complex so much, why don't you resign you chair at MIT? Like the money?
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Summary: Pointing to the other side of the coin
Review: This book is a great addition to the library of someone interested in unearthing the truth about the world around them. One need not agree with Chomsky to identify the rigor of his arguments. This very accessible composition invites the reader to evaluate the professor's logical connections for themselves. In the end, it is a book from the other side of media showmanship and government advertisement, pointing to a authentically horrible side of American political and historical reality. For this reason, Chomsky's words are worth consideration.
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Summary: shocking, engaging, and very accessible
Review: This a great book, which couldn't have come out at a better time. It almost feels like it's politically necessary right now. If you read it, pretty soon you'll be trying to get other people to read it. The book combines an easy-going, easy-to-read style with intense documentation in the on-line footnotes (the footnotes are longer than the text, if you print them out). This gives you the option of reading it casually or treating it like a very serious scholarly work, which it is. The footnotes are great because they give you extra coverage on topics you are interested in, if you want it. The scope of the book is vast, but Chomsky's brilliance is in his ability to draw connections between a variety of different topics. The book covers everything from U.S. interventions in the Third World to the machinations of the press, to the decline of social welfare and the war on unions. But right now the most important sections are those dealing with U.S. foreign policy and the Israel/Palestine conflict. The treatment of the latter alone is worth the price of the book, because in a relatively brief number of pages, Chomsky makes the conflict completely comprehensible (for me, for the first time...) A lot of the discussions took place in the early 90s and late 80s. What is amazing right now is how prophetic they've turned out to be. Chomsky was dead-on about the Israeli-Palestine conflict in 1988. He predicted back then that "the next thing" would be a proposal for a two-state solution that would seem good on the surface but in reality would be a situation where one state would be a real state "and the other will collect garbage." His later discussions from when the Oslo "peace" process was unfolding are equally telling, for he correctly predicts the collapse of the process. The discussions of "terrorism" are equally brilliant -- so much so that one forgets that at the time Chomsky was talking about Kaddafi and not Osama or Saddam. It's chilling how things have really not changed much, despite appearances. The book is also very hopeful, giving a lot of advice on what folks can do to change the sorry state of affairs in the world. In all, this is a must-read right now.
Rating: 
Summary: What Superpower Struggle??
Review: This book is 25% brilliance, and 75% sheer lunacy. Readers should take Chomsky's discussion of the corporate media apparatus at face value. Understanding Power discusses at length the fact that the media is driven by what sells newspapers and ad space, rather than actually informing the public. In addition, some of Chomsky's discussion about "Big Brother" operations of the FBI (e.g. COINTELPRO) reinforce Jefferson's brilliant maxim: "the government that governs least, governs best." On the other hand, Chomsky's thesis, which lays the blame for virtually every conceivable global problem at the doorstep of the White House, is tired, careworn and simplistic. His discussion of U.S. foreign and domestic policy during the Cold War is out of context and one-sided. While focusing on CIA wrongdoing in Southeast Asia and FBI abuses at home, Chomsky omits the fact that the U.S. was embroiled in a life or death struggle with a superpower dictatorship: the Soviet Union. In addition, the terroristic acts and espionage of such groups as the Black Panthers, the Communist Party of the USA, and the Viet Cong are conveniently swept under the rug in Chomsky's analysis. If you want to learn more about Big Brother, then this book should work for you. When reading about U.S. foreign policy, however, a grain of salt won't do -- you'll need a whole shaker!
Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: This is a great collection of Chomsky material in a conversational style. Although I'm sure all readers of Chomsky will enjoy this, I would especially recommend it to someone just being introtuced to his work. It is a very informative read, and because of it's format, you don't have to read from cover to cover.
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Summary: A book that will change your life
Review: I began reading this book because it happened to be around. I had read some Chomsky before but I could never get into him, he seemed kind of a crank. Understanding Power, is without question, the indispensable Chomsky. Nothing is left unturned, even a bit of the personal that help put everything into perspective. If what you see around you in the media, politics, and economics make you mad and you can't understand why things are the why they are, you need to read this book. You will understand, and you will be motivated to do something.
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Summary: Will Convince only those who Need no Convincing
Review: Chomsky's "thought" in this book comes is filled with his typically tired and tendentious rants. Arguments this shallow are only taken seriously in the intellectually sclerotic environment of today's American universities and among the conspiracy-theory fringe. If you like "radical chic", you will certainly find it here. If you believe in blaming America and Israel for all of the world's problems, you'll also love this book. The sad thing about Chomsky and his allies is that their idiotic ravings inevitably detract from the serious and principled criticisms that can and should be made of the way Western democracies function today.
Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: This is Chomsky's best book, I think. It has the level of analytical detail of "Year 501" (for example), while keeping the accessibility of the Barsamian interview books. The editor (Peter Mitchell) has done a great job. Perhaps a first-time reader of Chomsky should start with a different book, but for anyone who has read him already this is great stuff. Chomsky's replies to the questions posed to him move from general points to specific historical details with a peerless level of skill. Even if you have read already Chomsky on those some of these same topics, the depth of this book is amazing.
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Summary: What this book is and is not about
Review: This book is a collection of speeches and Q&A sessions edited and organized to provide a coherent view of Chomsky's beliefs. It does a tremendous job of summarizing much of Chomsky's work. If you have ever wondered what he's about this is *THE* book to get. This isn't a book someone sat down 5-15 years ago to write as a research project. Instead it similar to the speeches and Q&A sessions you see on C-SPAN and C-SPAN2 (e.g. the ones where book authors talk about their books and then answer questions). If you like those then you'll at least like the format/feel of this book. I should also provide a warning to those who have not been exposed to the ideas presented in this book -- the closest analogy I have is taking the red pill in the movie The Matrix...
Rating: 
Summary: The enemy is....
Review: I first crossed paths with Dr. Chomsky when I took a linguistics class way back when. As far as I know, he remains a leading figure in that field. UNDERSTANDING POWER is a distillation of material from many talks Chomsky gave on NON-linguistics topics during the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. One or two excerpts came from talks he gave in the late 90s. Chomsky's subjects cover everything that should concern a good liberal--oppressed workers, bad schools, free speech, etc.--which I think I am, although not a card-carrying sort as I seldom participate in demonstrations. However, elected officials hear from me from time to time and I vote. I also belong to a union, engage in organic gardening, recycle, drive a 12-year old Toyota, and voted for Al Gore (okay, okay, I know you guys voted for Nadar). I don't agree with everything Chomsky says. For one thing, I don't agree with his position on Israel. I am closer to Thomas Friedman on that score--whom Chomsky pretty much characterizes in this book as a patsy for the powers he's trying to help the reader understand. I do agree with Chomsky that large corporations are a VERY big problem worldwide as the French historian Braudel has pointed out in his wonderful books. I also agree that the patent and trade business is troubled--although Chomsky does not fully discuss how the corporations buy up "threatening" patents, i.e. patents that would produce less costly substitute goods. I also agree that many laws on the books concerning worker rights and health and safety and environmental issues are not being enforced. MANY laws are not being enforced and individuals can and must join forces to make the authorities act. Maybe I am naive, but I belive voting the right person into office helps. Chomsky really does not offer solid ideas for fixing the current world-wide military-industrial complex and rapidly deteriorating environment other than to say "you guys get out there and do something." Maybe he functioned as a motivational speaker at these sessions but quite frankly I would have left depressed not energized. Why not focus on success stories--like the one PBS told the other night about the Swiss firm that found a way to produce a non-toxic product (Susan Sarandon narrated it so you know it was good.) I believe companies can be and have been "encouraged" to act responsibly by the representatives of the people (McDonald's and chickens and styrofoam cups for example). I also believe some corporations are more reasponsible than others. The real question Chomsky does not address in this book is who within the corporation holds the power. If you have a 401K or own stock outright you know you have little say-so, but the owners of the means of production can organize and act, and have organized and acted. The most important person is the consumer however, and Chomsky doesn't say enough about how consumers can and have affected bad corporate citizens. Chomsky points out that corporations are bottom-line oriented and vulnerable on that account. Why not go all the way and talk about how consumers can boycott goods and services until they respond. And, be a responsible consumer. If you want cleaner air, don't drive a SUV. Riding lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and weed whackers foul the air unless they are electric-powered. Chomsky says he thinks it is important to read material written by individuals with differing perspectives. I agree. That's why I read his book AND I read conservative writers in the Wall Street Journal and Washington Times--and why I read THE CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN MIND by Alan Bloom (Chomsky discusses this book in his book). Lastly, I found the online footnotes associated with this book extremely interesting. Much of what Chomsky cites has been taken from secondary material written by the very journalists he disparages.
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