Who Rules the World?

By: Noam Chomsky

Narrated by: Brian Jones

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The world's leading intellectual offers a probing examination of the waning American century, the nature of US policies post-9/11, and the perils of valuing power above democracy and human rights.

In an incisive, thorough analysis of the current international situation, Noam Chomsky argues that the United States, through its military-first policies and its unstinting devotion to maintaining a world-spanning empire, is both risking catastrophe and wrecking the global commons. Drawing on a wide range of examples, from the expanding drone assassination program to the threat of nuclear warfare as well as the flashpoints of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Israel/Palestine, he offers unexpected and nuanced insights into the workings of imperial power on our increasingly chaotic planet.

In the process Chomsky provides a brilliant anatomy of just how US elites have grown ever more insulated from any democratic constraints on their power. While the broader population is lulled into apathy - diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable - the corporations and the rich have increasingly been allowed to do as they please.

Fierce, unsparing, and meticulously documented, Who Rules the World? delivers the indispensable understanding of the central conflicts and dangers of our time that we have come to expect from Chomsky.

©2016 Valeria Wasserman-Chomsky (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

Difficult to absorb. Because of the magnitude .

Would be difficult for anyone with a positive opinion of the USA, or Israel to read. Although some of his claims are difficult to verify they are logically consistent with established facts.
Would recommend reading it. Gives a clear perspective on what many people won't even discuss

Reader is bad

The reader reads this piece in such dramatic way, like it is 1986. This distracts a lot

Very informative

The book is very informative and insightful. However it seems one-sided, but overall I did find it a very good book

Must read...

The collective consciousness of American citizens is quite low! If you are a US citizen you need to read this book! Everything is not as it seems… And that is being delivered to you on purpose.

Hard to Follow at times

Great book full of information. perhaps it was my fault for not being able to track where it was at/where it was going at times, but it was often hard to follow. sort of felt like a jumbled mess of random world event facts and such. again, very informative, just not very easy to follow overall.

Sobering eye opening fact based book

As much as I have enjoyed listening to this audio book but at times it was jarring to find out the bitter truth behind what really happens behind the world stage!! I was aghast indeed to learn!!

Highly recommended for everyone who’s seeking the truth

must read to get a true picture

repeated info that needs to be recognized as vital to the understanding of the defecation 13.22in in

Insightful

Gives a point of view on US history and its place in international affairs that you won’t (I certainly didn’t) typically hear. I’ve tried to maintain an open mind and a willingness to entertain views sometimes foreign and within the context of his intention as presented by the author. It certainly gives you something to think about. I’m sure I’ll be listening to it again.

I would recommend this book to any ‘student’ of both history and political history using the past to more clearly understand the present, and to grasp a connection with and to see the patterns that are often present in modern current events and their historical developments.

I want to thank Audible, authors and the various readers for their valuable platform that allows me to access books even while working full time. For me, this platform allows me a much more efficient and valuable use of my time than radio or TV. My phone and Bluetooth speaker are always with me. Studying many different points of view allows one to achieve a significantly broader grasp of current events, maintaining an independence of ‘that framework’ as presented by the media, allowing one to think for himself. I am very selective and will very regularly choose books or read articles from opposing points of view so as to allow me to more fully understand and integrate these positions into a more comprehensive and educated personal view.

We all need to know this!

If you could sum up Who Rules the World? in three words, what would they be?

Oh my god.

We are being kept in the dark about what our government is doing. "Who Rules the World" explicitly shows how our foreign policy is (and has been) out of control... especially when it comes to covert operations. I never knew what my government was doing during the time I was growing up in the 50's and 60's, and then as an adult from the 70's on. If I had known or if we all had known, we might have been able to stop the worst of these operations. I am horrified at the scale and scope of what we have been involved in.Chomsky explains how we were (and still are) deliberately left out of the decision making process to avoid pushback and to avoid discussions involving morality and true American values. The the term "national security" has a new meaning to me now. I see how it is used to keep the public from weighing on decision making that is often indefensible because of its inhumanity. I now see that secrecy is the enemy of democracy. Secrecy cancels the checks and balances of our democracy ... allowing small groups of people to make huge decisions that impact everyone... with no accountability.I would recommend this book to all those who wish to find a way to change the current trajectory of world affairs. We need to start to get our own house in order.

What other book might you compare Who Rules the World? to and why?

"Blowback" because both of these authors have had the courage to speak truth to power.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Can we rein in our government's covert operations?

Any additional comments?

A must read for anyone who wants to to find a way to change the current trajectory of world affairs.

Noam Chomsky's masterpiece

Super detailed history of how we ended up, having one very small group of people, ruling and deciding the future of humanity.