michiel reviewed Optimism over Despair by Noam Chomsky
Deep for an interview, shallow for a book
3 stars
Noam Chomsky is someone with an impressive memory and talent for public speaking. He needs only a little prompting to provide an argument that is coherent, engaging, and filled with interesting references.
In aggregate, you start noticing the patterns. "Famous liberal thinker didn't say what you think he did, he actually said ". "What universally despised group does is actually small beer compared to what the US government did in "
In an interview, this is impressive. In a book, this leads to a lack of structure and depth. Fun reading, but not world-shattering.
Noam Chomsky is someone with an impressive memory and talent for public speaking. He needs only a little prompting to provide an argument that is coherent, engaging, and filled with interesting references.
In aggregate, you start noticing the patterns. "Famous liberal thinker didn't say what you think he did, he actually said ". "What universally despised group does is actually small beer compared to what the US government did in "
In an interview, this is impressive. In a book, this leads to a lack of structure and depth. Fun reading, but not world-shattering.