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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing I haven't heard before..., 1 Nov 2009
To be honest, you don't need to buy this book. You've heard it all before, whether conservative or liberal.
The bias in these reviews is blinding - use of the term 'anti-american' to describe someone who disagrees with the government is typical, shortsighted, and frankly a little pathetic. Try going to Italy, and telling someone on the streets of Rome that because he dislikes Berlusconi, he is 'un-Italian', and watch him roll around on the floor with laughter. The idea that disliking a leader and seeing fault with the sytem makes you a 'traitor' of some kind, IS laughable.
Other typical conservative attacks are obvious too - someone who recognises Israel's illegitimacy is 'anti-semitic', a 'nazi sympathiser', even a 'holocaust denier'
The arguments used in the book are no more compelling than those used by the reviewers. The venom, and fear-driven hate are evident throughout, and little to no evidence is used in support of their rebuttals. The slightest digging into the listed sources immediately shows the transparency and shallowness of the arguments used by the authors.
As I said at the beginning, you don't need to buy this book.
If you're conservative, you've probably already denounced Chomsky as a 'red', and this book would serve only as self-gratifying trash.
If you're a fan of Chomsky, you'll know his opinions already (most of which THIS book gets completely wrong, whether intentionally or accidentally it's hard to tell), and the arguments they use against him will be debunked with 5 minutes of further reading.
Either way, it's a waste of money. Save the 11 quid (or 20 when i bought it...)
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122 of 197 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chomsky Chomped, 23 Nov 2004
By A Customer
I first heard of Noam Chomsky when I was reading Psychology at Cambridge, and came across his wonderful work on deep structure. The Anti Chomsky Reader however reveals another side of the great academic. A complete stranger to self-doubt, and apparently lacking any shred of human warmth or humour, Chomsky's towering intellect is matched only by his arrogance and duplicity. The essays collected here by Collier and Horowitz, reveal how Chomsky mercilessly manipulates the evidence, systematically ignores the facts, and traduces his opponents to support his bizarre political theses. The various contributors all come to the same conclusion; whether he is writing about America, the media, the Middle East, or sadly, even linguistics, Chomsky simply cannot be trusted to tell the truth. Well-written, entirely convincing, this is a systematic and merciless expose of a man blinded by his own IQ. It will have Chomsky's chums frothing at the mouth and biting the carpet. Enjoy!
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50 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Nutty Professor, 29 Sep 2007
Sensible adults may wish to ask why bother reading a book about the conspiracy theorist, anti-semite and anti-American bigot Noam Chomsky. Well, for your answer, all you need to do is read the poor reviews below, which don't even discuss the contents of the book, and rely on blind ignorance and ad-homenim attacks on Horowitz. Just as there is no point whatever in trying to discuss "Fahrenheit 9/11" with one of Michael Moore's true believers, so it is absolutely futile to engage in a conversation with Mr. Chomsky's acolytes.
This book shows once and for all that Chomsky's political theories are painfully simplistic. He has a habit of making ludicrous predictions (as in his post-September 11 observation that the American government was intent on inflicting a "silent genocide" on the people of Afghanistan.). His prose is turgid to the point of self-parody. For all that, Chomsky exerts extraordinary influence over the Left and is treated like a God on American (and European) campuses.
These essays assembled by Peter Collier and David Horowitz -- two of America's most renowned ex-leftists -- give Mr. Chomsky's reputation a ruthless and long-overdue debunking. This collection makes essential reading, not just because it demolishes the great man's conspiracy theories, but because it demonstrates his chronic inability to honour the truth. They put it brilliantly when they say "slippery allusions, inverted logic, rambling eviscerations of facts from their context and malicious distortions of the historical record.".
Whether discussing Vietnam, the Soviet Union, Israel or Osama bin Laden, the approach seldom varies. Even his longtime sympathizer, Christopher Hitchens, finally broke with him over the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. And the liberal Democrat Alan Dershowitz, no Bush fan, is appalled by Chomsky's hateful and disgusting attacks on Israel.
Some of Chomsky's pronouncements would be ignored if they came from anyone else - his Pol Pot apologetics, his `de-Nazification thesis', his `silent-genocide' drivel and his support for Holocaust deniers. John Williamson's devastating account of Chomsky's refusal to accept responsibility for one of his wilder pronouncements -- in this case about America and Britain's supposed role in delaying the liberation of the Nazi death camps in Poland. (Comparing America with Nazi Germany is second nature to him). Williamson contacted Chomsky with a request for clarification, the latter cited an obscure source and, what is more, accused the writer of spreading malicious gossip. Intrigued, Mr. Williamson dug further. The supposed historical reference turned out to be threadbare.
Chomsky, it seems clear, had been caught in the act. Oliver Kamm has already destroyed Chomsky's repuatation and exposed his fabrications and lies, from a liberal perspective. But why expect his followers to believe any of this? Inconvenient facts, to them, are just another manifestation of the great capitalist conspiracy.
A superb book which shows this contemptible man, for what he is.
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