' '[A]rguably New York's most famous public intellectual after Hannah Arendt and Susan Sontag, and America's most prominent advocate for Palestinian rights.' - Pankaj Mishra, New Yorker ' - ' 'For those of us who see the struggle between Eastern and Western descriptions of the world as both an internal and an external struggle, Edward Said has for many years been an especially important voice.' - Salman Rushdie ' - ' 'When Edward Said died in September 2003, after a decade-long battle against leukemia, he was probably the best-known intellectual in the world. Over three decades, virtually single-handedly, he wedged open a conversation in America about Israel, Palestine and the Palestinians. In so doing he performed an inestimable public service at considerable personal risk.' - Tony Judt ' - ' 'Edward Said is among the truly important intellectuals of our century.' - Nadine Gordimer ' - '' - '' -.