Hi Firestorm,
(firestorm40k @ Dec. 31 2006,16:10)
QUOTE
Hmm, most of the books I read this year are academic books about global political economy (Noam Chomsky's 'Hegemony or Survival' probably the outstanding one)...
Chomsky is a brilliant linguist. I just wish that he had stuck with science instead of invective. His political writings seem very persuasive until you fact-check him... then they fall apart. Don't take my word on it... fact-check him.
His behavior is frequently hypocritical as well... for all that he criticizes Western culture, he also partakes of it heavily... such as with his financial investments and his intellectual property rights. In other words, he has a strong policy of "Do as I say and not as I do."
He also has supported some of the world's worst, most genocidal groups in history such as Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Hezbollah, the PLO, Beider Meinhof Gang and many others.
I guess what I'm trying to say to you as a friend is that I recommend you take Chomsky's political writing with a grain of salt. I've read almsot everything he has written and wrote a thesis about him and his work. There's a reason why Chomsky won't authorize biographies (I've read them all... the one authorized one and the unauthorized ones). I love the man as a linguist, but I can't stand his misguided attention-getting, money-seeking activism.
(firestorm40k @ Dec. 31 2006,16:10)
QUOTE
...but I also read Norman Mailer's 'The Naked & the Dead'; a dense yet superb book about US soldiers in World War 2. ?Thin on action, this concentrates on every detail of the character - warts & all. ?It is very long though, I actually started reading this in 2005!
Sounds interesting.
(firestorm40k @ Dec. 31 2006,16:10)
QUOTE
Also, I read Fahrenheit 451, which is excellent...
Great book.
Try "The Giver" too.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
