Media Book of the Month, February 2010

In this insightful critical biography, Harold Veeser draws the connections between Said’s life, politics, and criticism. These three areas, Veeser shows, are united in the central theme of Said’s persona: charisma. This drive for charisma leads Said ‘between worlds’ from his childhood as ‘A Christian wrapped in Muslim culture’ in Jerusalem to a prestigious Ivy League academic career to a colorful political career that thrust him into a circle of international figures, diplomats, legendary generals, presidents, and outright terrorists and thugs—Arab and Israeli alike. In all arenas, Said fought for personality, originality, and the marvelous against anonymity, routine, and impersonal method. This book includes previously unpublished biographical and political facts, interviews, anecdotes—as well as never-before-transcribed correspondence and conversations.