• Who Rules the World?

  • By: Noam Chomsky
  • Narrated by: Brian Jones
  • Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,073 ratings)

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Who Rules the World?  By  cover art

Who Rules the World?

By: Noam Chomsky
Narrated by: Brian Jones
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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
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Who Rules the World?

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

UNLISTENABLE

Regardless of how important it is to hear what Mr. Chomsky has to say—this audiobook is unlistenable.

It's because the narration is horrible. Brian Jones reads in the most bizarre fashion imaginable—with a panic-stricken, hyper-emotional, gravelly whisper—as though he's deathly afraid that someone in the next room might hear him. It's completely weird, and thoroughly distracting.

Furthermore, Jones has adopted a tone of complete sarcasm, as though he's making an ongoing joke—some kind of insinuation, like "Boy, isn't the establishment stupid—not smart like us!" I've read enough Chomsky to know that it should be read in a factual, not a sneering tone. It's an insult to any serious listener.

To be fair, I don't think ANY of this should be blamed on Mr. Chomsky. He's extremely insightful, and there's just no way he'd want the serious facts of his book to be slaughtered—ruined—by such demeaning narration. Sorry, Noam—you really got shafted on this one!

There may be listeners who'll take exception to this harsh review, but there are certainly others who are simply too politically correct or too timid to mention it.

For my part, it sickens me that Chomsky's book—so pertinent, timely, and necessary—is trivialized by such terrible narration.

Before I abandoned it, I had listened to perhaps thirty minutes of the book—after which I only wanted to retain it long enough to publish this negative review. After that, I'm planning on asking Audible for my money back.

Don't be cowed, Audible Listeners! Stand up for quality! Stand up for sanity! Don't tolerate bad narration! And sorry again, Noam—I'll catch you in print!

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49 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Why this narrator was a poor choice

Chomsky has such a worthwhile and well researched perspective. For those who are familiar with his way of speaking, this narrator will drive you nuts! Chomsky is so darned reasonable and unexciteable so it makes no sense to narrate with a melodramayic movie-preview voice. I don't believe the narrator understands what he's reading so it makes an already dense text even more difficult to follow. I keep trying to listen but I think I'll just have to read the print copy if this is the only audio option.

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29 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Horrible narration by Brian Jones

Horrible narration by Brian Jones. The artificially deep voice and the very choppy delivery make following Chomsky's words challenging. Just buy the book

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21 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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16 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Robotic

What would have made Who Rules the World? better?

ITS EXCELLENT

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

GOOD

Would you be willing to try another one of Brian Jones’s performances?

NO! He sounds like a robot. I'm going to read the book instead

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Makes you realize those who scream conspiracy are closer to the truth than we would hope!

Excellent compilation of facts rarely heard in the mainstream. Refreshing honesty that should make us rethink how we view and interact with our government and world. We have the power to facilitate change, but we must arm ourselves with the truth before we may begin. May we passionately pursue social justice and equality by legitimate and peaceful means with unquestionable integrity and unwavering courage!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very Informative

Noam Chomsky's books are full of cited information that leads to endless routes of knowledge. He isn't too aggressive with his opinion, nor is he the type of writer that goes off on whims. Everything he talks about is a reflection of the sources he had studied. This book will give you many avenues to look down, to formulate your own opinion.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Crucial, immediate, and of utmost importance!

Crucial, immediate, and of utmost importance! Captures history and our future with detailed, fact based study.

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6 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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great

great but dense, could have provided more theory and historical context for the non-historian, given that this is one of his easier books

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5 people found this helpful

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You do. You rule the world.

Have you ever noticed that, before you try to do something new, it feels scary, complicated, and even impossible but, once you do it, it didn't really feel like a big deal at all? When you're a college freshman, graduating seems like such a far-off prospect that you can't see how it will ever happen. Raising children before you have some seems like an utter impossibility. Buying your first home feels like you're over-stepping your capacity as a human.

This is how life works.Thought and criticism are easy, but they're a dead end. Go. Do the work. Build whatever you want to. Once you do it, no matter how impossible it seemed beforehand, you'll see that it's not as hard as you thought.

Go listen to some better books like Chris Guillebeau's "The Happiness of Pursuit," or Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art." Life's too short to be a critic and a pessimist. Go build something. Go do something. America will love you for it. You rule the world. It's you.

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4 people found this helpful