9-11

by Noam Chomsky

English language

Published Aug. 30, 2011

ISBN:: 978-1-60980-343-8

(236 reviews)

9-11 is a collection of essays by and interviews with Noam Chomsky first published in November 2001 in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The revised edition of 2011, 9-11: Was There an Alternative?, includes the entire text of the original book, together with a new essay by Chomsky, "Was There an Alternative?"

4 editions

timthinks reviewed 9-11 by Noam Chomsky

Review of '9-11' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Foundation and Empire is the second book of the original trilogy. Most of what made the first book interesting applies here, which means it is therefore the less interesting second go around. The appeal of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series is the scope of the narrative. The story is really tracing the growth and changes of a whole universe populated with trillions of people and countless planets. Asimov takes time to zoom in on specific events and planets to push his galactic empire narrative forward. Basically I find it fun and enjoyable to read but only because of the scope of the narrative; I don't find the writing very powerful or the characters that interesting. For me this book is all about scope, but that seems to be enough to make it worth my time.

timthinks reviewed 9-11 by Noam Chomsky

Review of '9-11' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Craig Carey's overview of Santa Barbara and Ventura's backcountry hiking trails and camps seems to be the only work of its kind. If you have any interest in backcountry hiking or backpacking this book is a great resource to get a description of how to find trailheads, trail recommendations, and info about campsites.

timthinks reviewed 9-11 by Noam Chomsky

Review of '9-11' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

American Splendor: Another Day is one of many books by Harvey Pekar in his long-running American Splendor series. This volume is a collection of short independent graphic stories each illustrated by someone different. I appreciated how the stories were always about something seemingly mundane: worrying about his daughter, fixing his toilet, talking with his new neighbor, etc. The illustrations, however, always felt messy and cluttered despite being drawn by so many different artists. It is hard to knock Pekar's work since he has a firm place in the graphic canon, but I can confidently say his work is not my style.

timthinks reviewed 9-11 by Noam Chomsky

Review of '9-11' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I can not tell whether Red Handed: The Fine Art of Strange has several nuanced narrative levels with complex characters that all, unfortunately, went over my head, or if this book is just a bit of fun entertainment. Matt Kindt's graphic novel tells the story of a classic wiz detective who solves a few strange crimes that may or may not be connected together. Each chapter tells a new story about a different crime: a person who only steals chairs, a seducer who cuts up Picassos, etc. I found myself really interested in the criminals and the descriptions of their crimes. Then towards the end Kindt trys to connect them all together using a thread that was weaved throughout all along that is now made visible. It sort of blows the top off the book and made me second guess. However I was not interested enough for a second reading …

timthinks reviewed 9-11 by Noam Chomsky

Review of '9-11' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Sailor Twain by Mark Siegel is a story about love, obsession, and lust involving a river boat captain, the boat's owner, and a mysterious mermaid on the Hudson River in 19th century New York. Siegel's story deals with powerful tropes but my lack of interest in any character keep it from being truly powerful. I appreciate how the characters wrestle between love and obsession, but I won't remember their struggle after the story ends.

The charcoal artwork is fantastic and captures the grittiness of the setting, except when its more comic depictions overshadow the story's serious tone. The story is a page turner that kept my attention throughout, but the foundations and explanations of the universe Siegel sets up (or, perhaps, its river-verse...) don't make much sense. Thankfully those foundations are only revealed at the very end of the story, when I was in too deep to turn away.

All …

timthinks reviewed 9-11 by Noam Chomsky

Review of '9-11' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms is another one of those books that gave me a glimpse of their greatness, but then proceeded to confuse me and go right over my head. These few stories of the survivors of the Hiroshima bombings are heartfelt, touching, and beautifully drawn. Kouno wants these stories told and I wanted to listen, but I had a hard time following along. The narrative can seem a bit disjointed with awkward transitions, which made me feel like something was lost in the translation (or the right-to-life style was too much for my brain). Despite that, I sensed a power in the characters and the stories that they told and felt a bit of grief at how their lives were changed forever.