Chronicles of Dissent: Interviews with David Barsamian, 1984-1996

Conducted from 1984 to 1996, these interviews first appeared in the books Chronicles of Dissent, Keeping the Rabble in Line, and Class Warfare, all published by the independent publisher Common Courage Press in Monroe, Maine. This omnibus collection includes a new introduction by David Barsamian, looking back on conversations and engagement with Chomsky's ideas that now spans decades, as well as a classic essay by Alexander Cockburn on Chomsky that served as the introduction to one of the original volumes.

About the Author :
Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor (emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Laureate Professor of Linguistics and Agnese Nelms Haury Chair in the Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. His work is widely credited with having revolutionized the field of modern linguistics. Chomsky is the author of numerous best-selling political works, which have been translated into scores of languages. David Barsamian has altered the independent media landscape, both with his weekly radio program, Alternative Radio, and his books with Noam Chomsky, Eqbal Ahmad, Howard Zinn, Tariq Ali, Arundhati Roy, and Edward Said. His latest book with Noam Chomsky is Global Discontents: Conversations on the Rising Threats to Democracy. He lectures on world affairs, imperialism, capitalism, propaganda, the media, the economic crisis and global rebellions. ​​​David Barsamian is the winner of the Media Education Award, the ACLU's Upton Sinclair Award for independent journalism, and the Cultural Freedom Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation. The Institute for Alternative Journalism named him one of its Top Ten Media Heroes. He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center. In 2017 the South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award. He has collaborated with the world-renowned Kronos Quartet in events in New York, London, Vienna and elsewhere. Barsamian was deported from India due to his work on Kashmir and other revolts. He is still barred from traveling to "the world's largest democracy."

Review :
"These interviews with Chomsky, conducted between 1984 and 1991, focus almost exclusively on the noted linguist's controversial political views. This volume is thus a good introduction to his political thought for those who are intimidated by his densely argued, exhaustively footnoted essays and books. The discussions range all over world history, from Columbus to the Gulf War, but they return repeatedly to certain pet topics--Israel as U.S. client-state, the perversion of language by propaganda, the pervasiveness of American imperialist designs and the complicity of a large sector of the intelligentsia and media in those machinations.... What sets this book apart from Chomsky's other writings are the passages in which he relates his political ideas to his childhood and youth in New York and Philadelphia--a refreshing dip into autobiography by an otherwise impersonal observer." --Publishers Weekly "The world renowned chronicler of dissent, David Barsamian, interviews Noam Chomsky on Ukraine, parallels with the Cold War and the U.S. propaganda system. Whether you agree or disagree with Professor Chomsky's analysis, reading him always forces us to think critically and inspires us to act morally. A highly recommended interview." --Nader Hashemi, University of Denver