Edward W. 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.Saree Makdisi teaches English literature at UCLA. His most recent book is Tolerance Is a Wasteland: Palestine and the Culture of Denial.