Rating: 
Summary: A Much Better Understanding
Review: I have not quite finished reading the book and am so impressed with the clarity of the information. I feel I have a much better picture of how my world works (or does not)and why. It has been like someone coming along and helping me with a very difficult jigsaw puzzle!
Rating:
Summary: Super Duper Good
Review: The negative reviews of this book on Amazon are absolutely laughable. First of all, regardless of your views, the editors of this collection of lectures and discussions should receive some special recognition. The book is very well put together and reads like a novel. The access to footnotes and the amount of information contained in the footnotes is astounding. Undergraduates in the social sciences have found their new go-to site for writing last minute term papers. Chomksy is not particularly "critical" of "popular ideologies and organized structures" as one reviewer states, he just outlines and explains them for what they are and how they work. He leaves it up to the reader to decide whether they like it or not. It just so happens that most readers will find the workings of corporate America and US foreign policy to be unsettling if not disturbing. Personally, I'm not that bothered about the way our government "manufactures consent." It's kind of one of the main foundations of our way of government. But to deny the plain truth of how our country works, for right or wrong, is just folly. "Never one to be influenced by the facts of whatever issue he is writing about Noamie will twist all logic and reason..."??? What is this reviewer talking about? Maybe I just can't understand him because he's talking out of his ass. How many books have you read that need to start up a website just to post the footnotes? Chomsky knows what he is talking about and it shows. He intelligently shoots down every argument or popular misconception raised by his (very well educated) audiences with respect and clarity. He even invites further discussion on the points that they raise. And he does this on the spot. Chomsky's vast knowledge and grasp of his subject matter cannot be denied no matter what your political views so I don't know why his detractors even bother anymore, they just end up sounding like idiots. I can see why people disagree with the way Chomsky feels that the world SHOULD work but if you don't believe that this is the way the world works NOW then you need to get out more. Go to some of the countries where the US conducts its questionable foreign policies. Spend some time in a power position in a large corporate conglomerate or a major university. Even though many of the discussions in this book took place many years ago, I was surprised by their immediate relevancy to the issues in our world today. Today, even after the horrible events of September 11th, one is hard pressed to find serious discussion of US foreign policy and its effects on the world in the popular media. The one page note on the events of September 11th at the beginning of the book nicely points out to the reader the entire purpose for the book..."We hope that the book will provide a starting point for understanding, and will contribute to the critical debates-and changes-that must now occur." A very well put together book. Nice work fellas
Rating: 
Summary: Pathetic
Review: I cannot understand for the life of me why anyone would read such rubbish? Chomsky warps the definitions of things to comfortably conform into his theories which lie far off the beaten path. He is controversial, which sells! I would be interested in reading his earlier books on linguistics (which is where he first made a name for himself) but I feel he has compromised his professional legitimacy with radical outbursts such as this pathetic book. "Understanding Power" exemplifies a far left position that is very critical of any organized structure, popular trends, popular ideologies, or anything that is essentially not anarchy! After reading it I shifted to a very moderate view of everything seeing the rediculousness and futility of extremes. I would recomend this book to the paranoid, to anarchists, and to anyone who is utterly unsatisfied with their lives or the world around them.
Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary accomplishment
Review: Editors Peter Mitchell and John Schoeffel have done an incredible job. Taking material from dozens of talks given by Chomsky throughout the 1990's, they have put together a highly readable compendium of its author's wide-ranging interests. Moreover, they have meticulously footnoted the text, citing plenty of sources and thus giving the book the academic rigour that most interview volumes usually lack (the footnotes are available for free at [website]). Whether you are new to Chomsky's ideas, or and old fan of the man who the New York Times calls "arguably the most important intellectual alive", _Understanding_Power_ is definetely a must have.
Rating: 
Summary: Great-but be careful
Review: Chomsky should be read by everyone as he does have an excellent grasp of the evils of our system. His major flaw in general is that he doesn't usually present events in the whole of their context so further research into any topic he discusses should take place prior to taking his information out on the street for debate. Keep a flexible mind and you will learn a great deal.
Rating:
Summary: a great primer
Review: This is a great introduction to the thinking of a great man. It is fun, easy to read, and totally eye-opening. The format is revolutionary (i.e., putting the footnotes online and letting them exceed the length of the text to give overwhelming proof to every controversial statement). The style of the book is great, because it mixes humor with utterly serious political analysis. The importance of the ideas cannot be overstated, particularly during these times of "Bush-hero" and "top gun". Anyone who cares about the world and is tired of the cheerleader media should do themselves a favor and read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Chomsky should know.
Review: Buy this book. Cult of CHomsky. What has Chomsky done with his fame and fortune? Nothing positive.
Rating:
Summary: Heil Noam!
Review: A great book!--however Noamie somehow forgets to mention that he is a Stalinist and an eternal apologist for the real forces of injustice and repression in this world. Never one to be influenced by the facts of whatever issue he is writing about, Noamie will twist all logic and reason until it fits the Party line. God help the mental midgets who find this book anything but laughable.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Covers many a topics from censorship in the academia to the usual American imperialism. Read it then do some research of your own to fully understand the issues because the book, quite frankly, leaves out a lot
Yes, Chomsky is one of the most important intellectuals of our time, a world wonder indeed, and yeah he's a linguistics prof.
Rating:
Summary: Noam knows.
Review: Colllection of Chomsky's musings on a wide range of topics from intellectual fraud to globalisation,the environment to US foriegn policy. Like 9/11, Understanding Power is very accessible as it is grafted from discussion and thus loses much of the scholarly "fat" that tends to burden much of Chomsky's written work. Unlike 9/11, this work sees Chomsky challenged fairly rigorously and forces him to defend his opinion rather than just promote it. Fortunately he does so emphatically and Understanding Power is further proof that Chomsky is the most honest and precise intellectual alive today.
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