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Edward W. Said

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Orientalism Paperback – 1 Jan. 2003

by Edward W. Said (Author)

4.7 1,820 ratings

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The seminal work that has redefined our understanding of colonialism and empire, with a preface by the author

'Stimulating, elegant and pugnacious' Observer
'Magisterial' Terry Eagleton

In this highly-acclaimed work, Edward Said surveys the history and nature of Western attitudes towards the East, considering orientalism as a powerful European ideological creation - a way for writers, philosophers and colonial administrators to deal with the 'otherness' of eastern culture, customs and beliefs. He traces this view through the writings of Homer, Nerval and Flaubert, Disraeli and Kipling, whose imaginative depictions have greatly contributed to the West's romantic and 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 and racism.
'Beautifully patterned and passionately argued'
New Statesman

'Very exciting ... his case is not merely persuasive, but conclusive'
John Leonard, New York Times

Print length

396 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

1 Jan. 2003
ISBN-10

0141187425
ISBN-13

978-0141187426
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From the Publisher

A Room of One's Own, The Lonely Londoners, Of Mice and Men Animal Farm, Women, Race and Class

Product description

From the Back Cover

For generations now, Edward W. Said's Orientalism has defined our understanding of colonialism and empire, and 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 and nature of Western attitudes towards the East, considering orientalism as a powerful European ideological creation - a way for writers, philosophers and colonial administrators to deal with the 'otherness' of eastern culture, customs and beliefs. He traces this view through the writings of Homer, Nerval and Flaubert, Disraeli and Kipling, whose imaginative depictions have greatly contributed to the West's romantic and 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 and racism.

Edward W. Said (1935-2003) was a Palestinian-American cultural critic and author, born in Jerusalem and educated in Egypt and the United States. His other books include The Question of Palestine, Culture and Imperialism and Out of Place: A Memoir.

About the Author

Edward W. Said was a university professor at Columbia University. He was born in Jerusalem in 1935 and educated in Egypt and the United States. His other books include The Question of Palestine, Culture and Imperialism and Out of Place: A Memoir.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; 1st edition (1 Jan. 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 396 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141187425
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141187426

Best Sellers Rank: 3,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 3 in Ethnography & Ethnology
- 9 in Etnography
- 15 in Multicultural Studies

Customer reviews:
4.7 1,820 ratings

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Edward W. Said

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Edward W. Said was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of Literature and of Kings College Cambridge, his celebrated works include Orientalism, The End of the Peace Process, Power, Politics and Culture, and the memoir Out of Place. He is also the editor, with Christopher Hitchens, of Blaming the Victims, published by Verso. He died in September 2003.

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4.7 out of 5

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Karen

Great service, great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2023

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Very good service and brilliant book. Very pertinent right now.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2023

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Great book from a well educated and intelligent historian. He explains his point of view in a very easy way. Much much better than Bernard Lewis whose books are clearly the product of a ranting old colonialist!

One person found this helpful

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Andrew Leisk

This book has changed how I think about others.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2020

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This book has altered, for the better I think, how I view other people and importantly other cultures. If you are serious about understanding then this is a book for you. We all tend to judge, I did but not know, other people, other cultures according to our own beliefs and ideas, our own perspective. This book has taught me to review my thinking: just because we do something one way it does not mean others who do it differently are wrong. This book for me is the top of the hit parade concerning my education. It's a difficult read, well not actually difficult, but its certainly not a time filler. It's a serious book to be read consciously, and carefully considered. You must read it.

28 people found this helpful

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snailman 21

"bridging the chasm"

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 January 2011

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Edward Said provides a concise justification for writing this large and complex book - and equally suggests a convincing reason for reading it - in his Afterword: "Orientalism is a study based on the re-thinking of what had for centuries been believed to be an unbridgeable chasm separating East from West. My aim... was not so much to dissipate difference - for who can deny the constitutive role of national as well as cultural differences in the relationships between human beings - but to challenge the notion that difference implies hostility, a frozen reified set of opposed essences, and a whole adversarial knowledge built out of those things."

As might be expected, this is a difficult book - to be read carefully, weighing each word - more a long difficult hike than a gentle cruise; nevertheless a `hike' that in the end leaves one feeling greatly enriched. In dealing with the centuries-old traducing of the people and culture of the East by intellectuals of the West, Said begins with Giambattista Vico's observation "...that men make their own history, that what they can know is what they have made," extending this with a detailed analysis of the writings of western historians, travel writers and politicians about `the Orient' which began in a systematic way with Napoleon's conquest of Egypt in 1798. Said is first and foremost a literary theorist and critic, however, and much of the pleasure in reading this book comes from his profound knowledge of the European literary background in which the orientalist theme can be traced to Dante, and perhaps even as far back as Aeschylus.

The body of Said's work is a fascinating exposition of the opinions of 19th century writers on the `orient' as different as the scientific philologist Renan, who never went there, and the romantic poets Nerval and Flaubert who traveled there in search of the "fabulously exotic and antique". Perhaps one of the most startling passages quotes Karl Marx's apparent approval of the cruelty and destructiveness of colonialism on the grounds that, while it was willfully destroying the ancient forms of civilization, causing a social revolution in Hindustan "actuated only by the vilest interests," for him the real issue was: "...whatever may have been the crimes of England she was the unconscious tool of history in bringing about that revolution."

We are indeed fortunate that we have the consciousness of Said as an antidote to all such blatant instrumentalism. Perhaps his greatest insight, echoing Nietzsche, is that Orientalism is a "system of representations" whose "truths... are embodied in language, and what is the truth of language... but a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms and anthropomorphisms - in short, a sum of human relations, which have been enhanced, transposed and embellished poetically and rhetorically, and which after long use seem firm, canonical, and obligatory to a people; truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that this is what they are."

As the pieces are once again thrown in the air in those territories we refer to as `The Middle East,' it seems more than ever necessary to re-examine the illusionary canons. We can wish for no better guide than Edward Said.

7 people found this helpful

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Hussain

Great work, worth a read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2021

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Said is an excellent scholar who understands the both the West and East. He clearly deciphers the Western hatred and scepticism towards the East and mainly towards Islam. This work highlights how so called Western scholars demeaned and disrespected the Eastern civilisation. This work shows the Western hatred for the East and there are a plentiful examples of such works in this book.
Well worth reading.

4 people found this helpful

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Crushed~Pink~Silk

Orientalism

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 September 2011

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This is an absolute must in any colonial and postcolonial literature student's library, as well as anyone who's remotely interested in cultural, psychological and literary studies. It's an amazing read and contains some very controversial points which have become the springboard for a whole host of literary debates. Said's words have inspired an entire generation of writers and critics who followed, critiqued and wrote with and against this work in particular. As with any other critical work, there is no doubt that there will be many who disagree and agree with it, and this is no exception. It is, by no means, an absolute authority on its subject but it has helped to shape and define much of what we read, how we read, what we see and perceive and how we see and perceive. I cannot recommend this book enough, the rest - I believe - speaks for itself.

3 people found this helpful

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Elizabeth

This book is a concise beautifully written account of both the origins and the deficiencies ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2015

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This book is a concise beautifully written account of both the origins and the deficiencies in the field of 'Orientalism'. Said sites numerous sources and includes a generous amount of exerts to back up every point he makes which could make for some very interesting future reads if your that way inclined. I really love this book and the price was also great. Edward W.Said has a factual and at times humorously satirical execution which made the book extremely fun to read. I found myself chuckling at times as Said can be very deliberately funny and always is with elegance and poise. Great book for anyone interested in this topic or just matters of history and the factors which have shaped society. This was delivered speedily and in perfect condition. :)

11 people found this helpful

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Pikestaff

Impressive but a tough read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 July 2019

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This book was widely praised when first published, but I found it tough going. The author's style is orotund in the extreme, with obscure vocabulary, paragraph-long sentences, and page-long paragraphs. He never uses a full stop where he thinks he can get away with semicolon, or a semicolon where he thinks he can get away with a comma. Until I got used to his rhythm, and managed to insert the necessary punctuation in my head, I found myself re-reading every other sentence, just to make sense of them.

As for its central thesis, about the condescending, imperialist and racist nature of orientalism - well, yes. Points well made, but did they really need to be made at such length? Perhaps at the time they did, and the author's range and grasp is impressive, but it all seems rather obvious now.

32 people found this helpful

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