How long does it take to read Failed States?
The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy
Failed States by Noam Chomsky takes about 5 hours 56 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 5 hours 56 minutes
A weekend read
First published 2006. 324 pages, about 89,100 words.
12 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 9 hours 54 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 5 hours 56 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 3 hours 43 minutes |
The page count is the median across 16 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
The United States has repeatedly asserted its right to intervene militarily against "failed states" around the globe. Chomsky turns the tables, charging the United States with being a "failed state," and therefore a danger to its own people and the world. "Failed states," Chomsky writes, are those "that do not protect their citizens from violence and perhaps even destruction, that regard themselves as beyond the reach of domestic or international law, and that suffer from a 'democratic deficit, ' having democratic forms but with limited substance." Exploring recent U.S. foreign and domestic policies, Chomsky assesses Washington's escalation of nuclear risks; the dangerous consequences of the occupation of Iraq; and Americas's self-exemption from international law. He also examines an American electoral system that frustrates genuine political alternatives, thus impeding any meaningful democracy.--From publisher description
Subjects: Politics and government, Unilateral acts (International law), International Security, Nuclear nonproliferation, Foreign relations, Democracy
