The Question of Palestine

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 fatal collision between two peoples in the Middle East and its repercussions in the lives of both the occupier and the occupied—as well as in the conscience of the West. He updated this landmark work to portray the changed status of Palestine and its people in light of such developments as the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the intifada, the Gulf War, and the ongoing Middle East peace initiative.

For anyone interested in this region and its future, The Question of Palestine remains the most useful and authoritative account available.

‘[A]rguably New York’s most famous public intellectual after Hannah Arendt and Susan Sontag, and America’s most prominent advocate for Palestinian rights.’ -- Pankaj Mishra New Yorker
‘Edward Said is among the truly important intellectuals of our century.’ Nadine Gordimer
‘For those of us who see the struggle between Eastern and Western descriptions of the world as both an internal and an external struggle, Edward Said has for many years been an especially important voice.’ Salman Rushdie
‘In this seminal text, Edward Said stridently diagnoses western hypocrisy and makes the case for Palestinian liberation, paving the way for so many thinkers who came after him. I wish it were not so, but The Question of Palestine is just as relevant now as it was in 1979.’ Isabella Hammad, author of Enter Ghost
‘This re-issue of The Question of Palestine only lends more weight and value to Edward Said’s work, to his vision and analysis, to the enduring need for his core principles of justice and empathy. Principles that have perhaps never been as severely tested as they are today. Passionate and patient, the book displays all the features that made Said a great thinker and a powerful advocate, whose absence continues to be felt.’ Ahdaf Soueif, author of Cairo: My City, Our Revolution
‘A compelling call for identity and justice.’ Anthony Lewis
‘Said is a brilliant and unique amalgam of scholar, aesthete, and political activist...His learning is global.’ Washington Post Book World

Edward Said (1935–2003) was one of the world’s most influential literary and cultural critics. Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, he was the author of twenty-two books, including Orientalism, Culture and Imperialism and Out of Place. He was also a music critic, opera scholar, pianist and the most eloquent spokesman for the Palestinian cause in the West.

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