Simply Chomsky (Great Lives)

“Noam Chomsky’s work has challenged and changed our understanding of the world from his pioneering work in linguistics to his unceasing critique of the world around us. Raphael Salkie’s book, Simply Chomsky, succeeds in bringing these critical issues to the attention of readers in a work at once succinct and illuminating.”
—Irene Gendzier, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Political Science, Boston University

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.

Benefits of Reading Simply Chomsky:

• Get an in-depth look at Noam Chomsky's life and work
• Discover how Chomsky's thought has shaped and changed our understanding of the world
• Learn more about Chomsky's groundbreaking work in linguistics and his protests against the Vietnam War
• Explore the current geopolitical hotspots and environmental issues that Chomsky is focused on

What's Included in Simply Chomsky:

• An exploration of the life and thought of Noam Chomsky
• An exploration of Noam Chomsky's groundbreaking work in linguistics
• An exploration of Noam Chomsky's protests against the Vietnam War
• An exploration of current international issues relevant to Chomsky

Don't miss out on this chance to gain a deeper understanding of Noam Chomsky's work and the world around us. Buy Simply Chomsky now before the price changes!

Raphael Salkie retired in 2020 as Professor of Language Studies at the University of Brighton, where he specialized in tense and modality, and corpus-based approaches to linguistics and translation. He is the author of many articles about language and a work on Chomsky titled The Chomsky Update: Linguistics and Politics.