Understanding Power


Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky, published in 2002, is a collection of previously unpublished transcripts of seminars, talks, and question-and-answer sessions conducted by Noam Chomsky from 1989 to 1999.
The transcripts were compiled and edited by Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel. Mitchell and Schoeffel are public defenders in New York.

Content

The book's ten chapters draw on discussions at various speaking engagements in the United States and Canada.
  1. "Weekend Teach-In: Opening Session"
  2. "Teach-In: Over Coffee"
  3. "Teach-In: Evening"
  4. "Colloquy"
  5. "Ruling the World"
  6. "Community Activists"
  7. "Intellectuals and Social Change"
  8. "Popular Struggle"
  9. "Movement Organizing"
  10. "Turning Point"

    Reception

Yannick Vanderborght, writing in the Review of Radical Political Economics, called Understanding Power "a stimulating read", and praised Chomsky's extensive factual knowledge. He said that Chomsky demonstrates "how 'common sense' can be transcended through the careful exploration of neglected sources, the detailed examination of unrevealed facts, or the informed comparison of forgotten events", but criticized as anti-intellectual Chomsky's assertions that political problems are in reality simple, and warned that "the oral style may arouse suspicions that radicalism necessarily implies unsubtle and unbalanced arguments".
Publishers Weekly said that the book provides "a useful and wide-ranging introduction to analysis of power and media", and said: "The discussions – a format that allows Chomsky to present his views in a conversational, accessible style – confirm his wide-ranging engagement with world affairs."
Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson described the book as "rich with insight" and "the best available introduction" to Chomsky's thinking, and named it first among the books that had influenced his own politics.