Noam Chomsky is the bestselling author of over 100 influential political books, including Hegemony or Survival, Imperial Ambitions, Failed States, Interventions, What We Say Goes, Hopes and Prospects, Making the Future, On Anarchism, Masters of Mankind and Who Rules the World. He has also been the subject of numerous books of biography and interviews and has collaborated with journalists on books such as Perilous Power, Gaza in Crisis, and On Palestine. Noam Chomsky is Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Gilbert Achcar was born in Lebanon, where he lived for many years. He now teaches Politics and International Relations at the University of Paris.