For generations now Edward W Said's Orientalism has defined our understanding of colonialism & empire & this Penguin Modern Classics edition contains a preface written by Said shortly before his death in 2003 In this highly-acclaimed work Edward Said surveys the history & nature of Western attitudes towards the East considering orientalism as a powerful European ideological creation
- a way for writers philosophers & colonial administrators to deal with the 'otherness' of eastern culture customs & beliefs He traces this view through the writings of Homer Nerval & Flaubert Disraeli & Kipling whose imaginative depictions have greatly contributed to the West's romantic & exotic picture of the Orient Drawing on his own experiences as an Arab Palestinian living in the West Said examines how these ideas can be a reflection of European imperialism & racism Edward W Said (1935-2003) was a Palestinian-American cultural critic & author born in Jerusalem & educated in Egypt & the United States His other books include The Question of Palestine Culture & Imperialism & Out of Place A Memoir If you enjoyed Orientalism you might like Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth also available in Penguin Modern Classics' Stimulating elegant & pugnacious' Observer' Beautifully patterned & passionately argued' New Statesman' Very exciting his case is not merely persuasive but conclusive' John Leonard New York Times' Magisterial' Terry Eagleton