Defending the West

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"This is the first systematic critique of Edward Said's influential work Orientalism, a book that for almost three decades has received wide acclaim in both the East and the West, voluminous commentary by scholars, and translation into more than fifteen languages." "In this thorough reconsideration of Said's famous work, Ibn Warraq argues that Said's case against the West is seriously flawed. Warraq accuses Said of not only willfully misinterpreting the work of many scholars but also of systematically misrepresenting Western civilization as a whole. With example after example, Warraq shows that from the time of the ancient Greeks, Western civilization has always had a strain in its very makeup that accepted non-Westerners and has always been open to foreign ideas. Warraq also criticizes Said for inadequate methodology, incoherent arguments, and a faulty understanding of history. He points out not only Said's tendentious interpretations but also historical howlers that would make a sophomore blush."--Jacket