'These searing essays refract the reality of the terrible years through a mind with extraordinary understanding, compassion, insight and deep knowledge. They are an invaluable contribution by a truly remarkable person, in his life and work' Noam Chomsky 'In this, Edward Said is at his most brilliant: analytical, yet steadfastly compassionate, he unravels the years of hope and deceit that marked the "Oslo peace plan" in Palestine' John Pilger, New Statesman 'Edward Said is arguably the most consequential literary, cultural, and geopolitical critic of our time' Richard Poirier 'They cover the failure of Bill Clinton's Camp David talks, the second intifada, the 9/11 atrocities and the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq. Written in Said's characteristically forthright style, they are always readable' Sunday Business Post