Product Description

No single book has encompassed the vast scope of Edward Said's erudition quite like Power, Politics and Culture - a collection of his interviews from the last three decades. In these twenty-nine interviews, Said addresses everything from Palestine to Pavarotti, from his nomadic upbringing under colonial rule to his politically active and often controversial life in America, and reflects on Austen, Beckett, Conrad, Naipaul, Mahfouz and Rushdie as well as fellow critics Bloom, Derrida and Foucault. Said speaks here with his usual candour, acuity and eloquence - confirming that he was in his lifetime among the truly most important intellects of our century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #165685 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Review
'A fascinating, oblique entry into the mind of one whose own writings ... are a brilliant questioning chronicle of contemporary culture and values' Nadine Gordimer 'This fascinating collection of interviews beautifully manifests these paradoxical self-positionings and deep ambiguities, and in the process offers a portrait - all the more striking for being so unselfconsciously self-conscious - of a vitally interesting individual' A.C. Grayling, Independent on Sunday 'Lucid, passionate forthright honesty and steely lucidity' Terry Eagleton, New Statesman 'This collection serves as a kind of intellectual biography: reading interviews is reading a man's life through the people who ask questions. It is difficult to think of any other literary official who would be worth the treatment' Scotsman

Terry Eagleton, New Statesman
‘Lucid, passionate’

About the Author
Edward W. Said (1935-2003) was born in Jerusalem, brought up in Jerusalem and Cairo, and educated in America. In 1963, he began to teach at Columbia University as Professor of English and Comparative Literature . He wrote twenty-three books which include the seminal Orientalism, Culture and Imperialism and Parallels and Paradoxes with Daniel Barenboim, also published by Bloomsbury.

Customer Reviews

The Best Introduction to Edward Said
If you want to know what Edward Said is about, in one volume, this is the best introduction.

Because most of the book is composed of interviews, Said has to react to questions and the opinions of others and this draws out his own views, presenting them in a crisp and concise way. By comparison books like the classic 'Orientalism' (much-cited but less read) are much more dense and heavy going.

'Power, Politics and Culture' includes some surprises, including (in later interviews) strong attacks on the irrelevance and emptiness of post-modernist critical theory, and a defence of the idea of a canon of literature that deserves study at the highest intellectual level.

An excellent book that reveals Said's humanity and stature, but also his weaknesses.

interesting
Being an interested reader in Bernard Lewis (3 of his books) and Lewis Mumford (3 of his books) Said's books came as a surprise.

I would always dismiss him as a Palestinian nationalistic fanatic and would not give any of his books much credence.

One day i was browsing through a bookshoop in Dubai trying to find a book to read on the plane back home to London, Said's book 'Orientalism' is the one i chose.

.... Thus surprisingly blown away by his articulation in the disection of orientalists machinations. His "enlightenment" and "unveiling" ofthe topic shrouded in mystery.

In this book i found details "of who Edward Said is" his motivations, experiences and concerns. The most interesting part of the book i found was the debate that took place between intellectuals including Bernard Lewis.

Said's monumental work "Orientalism" is a thorn for alot of Orientalists, whose works amount to aprox 99% of writings about Islam/Middle-east/Muslims/Orient with hardly a shadow of critique (or critique developed in their own framework) Always speaking for the Oriental (recent Iraq/Afghanistan is a good example) and not letting themselves be represented.