SOURCE: “Strong Words,” in The Chicago Tribune, January 1, 1993, p. 1.

In the following essay, Grossman provides an overview of Chomsky's career, achievements in the field of linguistics, and controversy surrounding his political views and activities.

Somehow, Noam Chomsky has managed to make himself both the Pied Piper and the odd man out of the ivory tower.

His fellow professors of linguistics divide history into two ages, B.C. and A.D.: Before Chomsky and After his Discoveries. In 1987, he won Japan's prestigious academic prize, the $285,000 Kyoto Award, for the revolutionary theory of language with which he essentially created modern linguistics.

There is scarcely a university post in the field that isn't held by a student of his, a student of a student of his, or someone who has peppered their own scholarly papers with abundant references to Chomsky.

He is, in fact, the king of the footnotes, and not...