Noam Chomsky, the left's leading critic of government policy, power, and language, takes on the international scene since 1945, devoting particular attention to events following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In World Orders Old and New, he develops an eloquent, incendiary, and forceful critique of Western government, from imperialist foreign policies to the Clinton administration's empty promises to the poor.

Chomsky offers a skeptic's guide to the modern language of power, taking readers on a journey through the Middle East, Central America, Eastern Europe, and other regions of the world where the U.S. makes myriad efforts to "maintain stability" or "restore hope." World Orders Old and New introduces readers to the so-called New World Order, where hopes for international peace and democracy have been challenged by numerous outbreaks of ethnic and regional violence.

With characteristic freshness and intensity, Chomsky reviews the history of superpower efforts to check territorial aggression, citing the war in the Gulf as a prime example of Western bravado, and examines these efforts from his own unique political perspective.

Turning to America, he uncovers the disappointments and doublespeak of the Clinton administration's domestic economic program. In Chomsky's view, the current president's hypocrisy is matched only by the distortions of his policies by the media, especially the New York Times.

Concluding with an assessment of the recent Israeli-Palestinian accord - in which Chomsky expresses concern for the victimization of the Palestinians - this major thinker of our time focuses his no-holds-barred attention once more on the powerless, the power-hungry, and the power-mongers in our increasingly global community.

Impressively researched and written with the linguist's precision and flair for language, World Orders Old and New offers a stimulating, fresh perspective from which to view an intellectual culture defined by such dubious political critics as Rush Limbaugh and Dan Quayle.