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    The McMaster Department of Philosophy has now put together the following notice commemorating Barry: Barry Allen: A Philosophical Life Barry…

Chomsky Book Sales Are About to Spike (Leiter)

Brian Leiter

Check out this photo from CNN.  If only Hugo Chavez had been holding a copy of Nietzsche on Morality or The Future for Philosophy!  But I guess those books wouldn’t have been as relevant to his topic (though Chapter 9 in the former, and Chapter 3 in the latter are actually not totally unrelated…).

(But which Chomsky book is he holding?  Is that Hegemony or Survival?  Comments are open for anyone who knows.)

UPDATE:  About 4 pm EST in the US, Chomsky’s book ranked around #540 for sales on Amazon; it is now (nearly 11 pm EST in the US) at #57. 

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17 responses to “Chomsky Book Sales Are About to Spike (Leiter)”

  1. Josh

    The BBC reports that it was indeed Hegemony or Survival:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5365142.stm

    Reply
  2. Jeff Roland

    Yes. According to the BBC, it's *Hegemony or Survival*. (See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5365142.stm )

    Reply
  3. AnonLeiterFan

    http://news.yahoo.com/photo/060920/481/675e09f3946d492d8a48ab50a3dac6d4;_ylt=AhgDZDgyOiTwuTCRE6jxH7O9IxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGk2OHYzBHNlYwN0bXA-

    Yahoo confirms this as well.

    Reply
  4. Bill Edmundson

    A "spike" depicts a sharp increase, followed by a correspondingly sharp decrease. "Jump to a new level," is what I think you mean, Brian. When the media speak of, e.g., a "spike" in violence in Iraq, the sublingual message is: "way up, but then quickly back down." Wishful thinking.

    Reply
  5. Carson

    Appears to be "Hegemony or Survival"…with some interesting differences.

    Chavez' version:
    http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/americas/09/20/chavez.un.ap/vert.chavez.gi.jpg

    The Amazon version:
    http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0805074007.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

    To wit, the cover of the English-language edition pointedly satirizes the US flag by replacing white stars with blue bombs, plus there is no blue field and no stripes. (via googling, I could not find a Spanish-language edition with a different cover)

    Reply
  6. jw

    As of 12:30 AM EST, the paperback edition is at #8 and the hardcover edition is at #39. I wonder what the combined ranking would be!

    Reply
  7. steven andresen

    Here is the speech according to Counterpunch,

    http://www.counterpunch.com/chavez09202006.html

    The story includes reference to the book.

    Reply
  8. Paul

    Funny aside. . . from today's NY Times:

    "But compared with Mr. Ahmadinejad, Mr. Chávez was just more colorful. He brandished a copy of Noam Chomsky’s “Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance” and recommended it to members of the General Assembly to read. Later, he told a news conference that one of his greatest regrets was not getting to meet Mr. Chomsky before he died. (Mr. Chomsky, 77, is still alive.)"

    Reply
  9. Ruchira Paul

    This is quite hilarious. The infallible formula for a best seller – have an enemy brandish your book. Somewhat reminiscent of the fate of William Blum's obscure book "Rogue State" which Osama Bin Laden endorsed in his speech and it climbed more than 200,000 rungs up the Amazon.com ladder.
    http://accidentalblogger.typepad.com/accidental_blogger/2006/01/the_two_big_os_.html

    I am wondering when terrorists and communists will start mentioning blogs in their speeches. The stat counter will go nuts!

    Reply
  10. Sol Zaidi

    Here is a better picture. If you don't see it right away, scroll down to "political views"

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky#Political_views

    Reply
  11. John Landahl

    The paperback is now at #3 and the hardback at #21.

    Reply
  12. Aaron Smuts

    At 20060921 19:31EST, the Amazon sales rank for the paperback is #3!

    http://www.amazon.com/Hegemony-Survival-Americas-Dominance-American/dp/0805076883/sr=8-13/qid=1158881011/ref=sr_1_13/102-3435349-7446568?ie=UTF8&s=books

    Product Details

    * Paperback: 301 pages
    * Publisher: Owl Books (NY); Reprint edition (September 2004)
    * Language: English
    * ISBN: 0805076883
    * Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
    * Shipping Weight: 10.40 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
    * average customer review: based on 139 reviews. (Write a review.)
    * Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3 in Books (See Top Sellers in Books)
    (Publishers and authors: improve your sales)
    Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? (We'll ask you to sign in so we can get back to you)

    * This page was created by a seller.

    Reply
  13. Antti Kauppinen

    For what it's worth, it's now #1 on Amazon. I don't quite see how a glimpse of a book in Hugo Chavez's hands makes it a bestseller in the US, but so it goes. I wonder if Bush's endorsement of The Stranger had similar results?

    Reply
  14. anonLeiterFan

    at 11:45am Eastern, it has cracked the top 10 (it's #9 now). Very interesting. Amazon's selling it at a 40% discount, so they're probably just flying out the door right now.

    Reply
  15. Paul

    Chomsky, #1 on Amazon, confirms he is still alive:

    http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/09/22/chomsky_still_alive_but_not_taking_calls/?p1=MEWell_Pos1

    Reply
  16. Cihan Baran

    Also, see this video on Youtube:



    Chavez doesn't just mention but also elaborates on the book's premise that America's aggressive imperialism may lead to the end of human species.

    Reply
  17. Neil

    The Guardian reports on the Chavez effect; sales are way up:

    http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1880226,00.html

    Reply

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