Edward W. Said

Orientalism is one of the greatest and most influential books of ideas to be published since the end of the European empires. For generations now, it has defined our understanding of colonialism and empire, and with each passing year, its influence becomes, if anything, even greater. To mark its 25th anniversary, Orientalism rightfully takes its place as a Penguin Modern...

More than half a century after its translation into English, Erich Auerbach's Mimesis remains a masterpiece of literary criticism. A brilliant display of erudition, wit, and wisdom, his exploration of how great European writers from Homer to Virginia Woolf depicted reality has taught generations how to read Western literature. This new expanded edition includes a substantial essay in introduction by...

This original and deeply provocative book was the first to make Palestine the subject of a serious debate—one that is now more critical than ever. With the rigorous scholarship that he brought to his influential Orientalism and an exile’s passion (he was Palestinian by birth and had been a member of the Palestine National Council), Edward W. Said traces the...

Using an impressive array of material from literature, archaeology and social theory, Edward Said explores the profound implications of Freud's Moses and Monotheism for Middle-East politics today. The resulting book reveals Said's abiding interest in Freud's work and its important influence on his own. He proposes that Freud's assumption that Moses was an Egyptian undermines any simple ascription of a...

From the author of Orientalism, a searching examination of Western culture and the roots of imperialism, now with a foreword by Hari Kunzru. 'Readers accustomed to the precision and elegance of Edward Said's analytical prowess will not be disappointed . . . Those discovering Said for the first time will be profoundly impressed' - Toni Morrison Following his profoundly influential...

Are intellectuals merely the servants of special interests, or do they have a larger responsibility? In these wide-ranging essays, one of our most brilliant and fiercely independent public thinkers addresses this question with extraordinary eloquence. Edward W. Said sees the intellectual as an exile and amateur whose role it is 'to speak the truth to power' even at the risk...

From Jane Austen to Salman Rushdie, and from Yeats to the news coverage of the Gulf War, this is a broad account of the roots of imperialism in European culture, and an analysis of the impact of 19th-century British and French imperialism on the culture of the period. The author focuses on the way in which this cultural legacy has...

With their powerful blend of political and aesthetic concerns, Edward W. Said's writings have transformed the field of literary studies. As in the title essay, the widely admired Reflections on Exile, the fact of his own exile and the fate of the Palestinians have given both form and the force of intimacy to the questions Said has pursued. Taken together,...