The Myth of American Idealism

A foundational document that would make for good introductory education for a public more resistant to this propaganda … Through exhaustive research into the way Americans—government officials, soldiers, journalists—have discussed American foreign policy over the years, Robinson and Chomsky tell a sweeping story of American aggression and amorality in language that is simple, even innocent … An incredibly valuable teaching tool for teenagers and young adults as they become politically engaged * Los Angeles Review of Books *The most accessible and coherent introduction to Chomsky’s ideas. Chomsky’s virtues are in abundant evidence here. He writes with absolute clarity and a withering sarcasm … Reading Chomsky can be truly eye-opening for those unaware of what he reveals: facts that are rarely discussed in the mainstream American media or in its schools * The Irish Times *Offers rich food for thought … the authors’ top-versus-bottom analysis becomes strikingly perceptive in a final chapter analyzing how today a global elite benefits from world-killing fossil fuels * Publishers Weekly *Written in a direct, no-nonsense style, full of shrewd analysis and layered with potent details, it is an excellent summary—and condemnation—of how the United States has shaped the world since it became a global superpower after World War II … The Myth of American Idealism should become required reading for those seeking to learn about the blood-soaked history of the American Empire. Without a doubt, Chomsky and Robinson have fulfilled their responsibility as intellectuals to speak the truth and to expose lies * The Nation *[This book] couldn’t be more timely. An outspoken critic of American empire for most of his life, here Chomsky zeroes in on the myths underlying that imperial expansion, namely the idea that the spread of democracy (no matter the methods) is an unalloyed good. The problem, of course, is that powerful men in small rooms who think themselves both wise and just tend to do the most damage * Literary Hub *Noam Chomsky has been proved right … The record of hypocrisy recounted by Chomsky and Robinson is sobering and convincing. No open-minded reader could absorb this book and continue to believe the pious rationales that U.S. leaders invoke to justify their bare-knuckled actions * Foreign Policy *Insightful, scathingly honest … For well over half a century a rare voice of sanity and reason in the wilderness of American hypocrisy, lies, and dissembling, [Chomsky] is high on my list of American patriot heroes … Robinson, too, is a truth teller * New Hampshire Gazette *A potent critique of the ideology behind America’s foreign interventions and its status as a global power, and a treatise on how the nation’s hubristic pursuit of ‘spreading democracy’ threatens not only the delicate balance of global peace, but the already-declining health of our planet. Who it’s for: Chomskyites; policy wonks and casual critics of American recklessness alike * The Millions *

Noam Chomsky is institute professor emeritus in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and laureate professor in the Agnes Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice at the University of Arizona. His work is widely credited with having revolutionized the field of modern linguistics, and he is equally renowned for his incisive writings on global affairs and U.S. foreign policy. The single most cited and published living author, winner of numerous international awards, Chomsky has written over one hundred books, including the bestselling political works Hegemony or Survival, Failed States, and Who Rules the World?.

Nathan J. Robinson is the cofounder and editor in chief of Current Affairs magazine. He is the author of Why You Should Be a Socialist and Responding to the Right, and his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Republic, among others. Robinson holds a JD from Yale Law School and a PhD in sociology and social policy from Harvard University.