According to The New York Times, Noam Chomsky is ?arguably the most important intellectual alive.� But he isn�t easy to read . . . or at least he wasn�t until these books came along. Made up of intensively edited speeches and interviews, they offer something not found anywhere else: pure Chomsky, with every dazzling idea and penetrating insight intact, delivered in clear, accessible, reader-friendly prose. Published as four short books in the famous Real Story series?What Uncle Sam Really Wants; The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many; Secrets, Lies and Democracy; and The Common Good?they�ve collectively sold almost 600,000 copies. And they continue to sell year after year after year because Chomsky�s ideas become, if anything, more relevant as time goes by. For example, twenty years ago he pointed out that ?in 1970, about 90% of international capital was used for trade and long-term investment?more or less productive things?and 10% for speculation. By 1990, those figures had reversed.� As we know, speculation continued to increase exponentially. We�re paying the price now for not heeding him them.