CHOMSKY AND ME: A Memoir

by Bev Boisseau Stohl

O/R Books
(www.orbooks.com)
2023, 308 pages, $21.95

ISBN 978-1-68219-377-8

Click Here to Purchase

Bev Stohl has provided a full bio/autobiography as an executive secretary to MIT linguist and social critic Noam Chomsky, with her own time at MIT covering about four decades. When the book centers on Noam, along with his work, concerns and frustrations, Chomsky is fascinating. But too often it veers into some of the mundane memories Bev has about the work she was doing. I suppose she was trying to connect her personal sphere to his, and I give Bev great credit for trying.

The biography portion is often an amusing and enlightening book. (I was taken by Noam’s love for what he was doing, and a brilliant professor who could create a lecture in his mind in a matter of minutes.)

The accounts of the beloved office dog, Roxy, were fun. But — a big “but” — Stohl mentions her inspiration and thanks friends for their help and support in the book. But the burning question remains: What exactly did Chomsky think of this book? I believe it needs his input to be a worthwhile biography.