I'm actually doing a huge book review on it right now. What an excellent book. I'm not surprised that he was one of the first academics to bring this issue to public attention. It challenges Western Imperialist ways completely. There has been MUCH criticism of the book, but I think that the book still manages to hold its ground. Someone has to try to state the obvious. It's a good thing we have in a position of respect doing it. Otherwise, I don;'t think there would be that much hype. Oh yes, and the book was also published in the States. Big Stink? No wonder--Notorious stereotypes of Middle East there--from Casablanca to True Lies, the film industry helps out bigtime. So Arab people are hostile to American security? ---situation in Palestine.......
Anyway, even if the book IS hard to read, everyone should know the argument Said and proponents put forth, to understand modern discourse and how biased arguments can be accepted.

I returned to this book recently, and am still amazed by its clear observations and relevance to our present time. Said argues that the West has created a body of knowledge about the Middle East through histories, studies, and art, which we consider this to be more real than the region itself. I always have difficulty with Said's convoluted prose, but the content of the book more than makes up for this. Anyone interested in literary criticism or International politics of any kind would enjoy this book. Those interested in epistemology will find it useful as well.