<DIV>According to <I>The New York Times</I>, 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.<BR> <br>Published as four short books in the famous <I>Real Story</I> series?<I>What Uncle Sam Really Wants</I>; <I>The Prosperous Few and the Restless Many</I>; <I>Secrets, Lies and Democracy</I>; and <I>The Common Good</I>?they've collectively sold almost 600,000 copies.<BR> <br>And they continue to sell year after year after year because Chomsky's ideas become, if anything, <I>more</I> 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.<BR></DIV>