Culture and Imperialism

By: Edward Said

Narrated by: Peter Ganim

A landmark work from the intellectually auspicious author of Orientalism, this book explores the long-overlooked connections between the Western imperial endeavor and the culture that both reflected and reinforced it. This classic study, the direct successor to Said's main work, is read by Peter Ganim (Orientalism).

©1993 Edward Said (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Edward Said makes one of the strongest cases ever for the aphorism, 'the pen is mightier than the sword.' This is a brilliant work of literary criticism that essentially becomes political science. Culture and Imperialism demonstrates that Western imperialism's most effective tools for dominating other cultures have been literary in nature as much as political and economic. He traces the themes of 19th- and 20th-century Western fiction and contemporary mass media as weapons of conquest and also brilliantly analyzes the rise of oppositional indigenous voices in the literatures of the 'colonies'.... Very highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand how cultures are dominated by words, as well as how cultures can be liberated by resuscitating old voices or creating new voices for new times." (Amazon.com review)

"Grandly conceived… urgently written and urgently needed…. No one studying the relations between the metropolitan West and the decolonizing world can ignore Mr. Said's work." ( The New York Times Book Review)

super!

brilliant analysis, rich language, deep reflection , this book is very much recommended to those who want to understand our world.

Ganim allows Said to shine

Said is an essential read for anyone I would argue, and here is Said at his best, but I would like to take the time to praise Peter Ganim for his extraordinary job with an incredibly challenging work. His pronunciation of foreign names and words is excellent, and his French in particular is near native.

Cultural literary criticism

Culture and Imperialism describes how the language used in literature can powerfully impact our stereotypes of other cultures. Using examples in classical literature (ranging from Jane Austen, to Joseph Conrad, to Albert Camus), Said shows us how imperialism was reinforced by the written word. Then, (using examples including V.S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie) he illuminates how today's societies - who are so focused on multi-culturalism - read the right books for the wrong reasons. I found this book intriguing. I listened to it on audiobook - Ganim's reading was smooth and engaging - but I'm now tempted to pick up a hard-copy of the book and use it as a reference in my perusal of literature. This book would be interesting to anyone interested in the culture of imperialism or in literary criticism of literature in the imperialist era.

A MUST READ

This is the follow up of “Orientalism”. Both books are excellent.
In this book mr. Said refers to well known literary works, written during Colonial times, mainly dominated by England and France. Some of them I have read and will definitely read again with a new awareness.
The discrimination against people, other than Europeans, is mind boggling and it is still going on. It is still a “power grab”, but
not labeled “colonialism”.
There is so much interesting information in this audio book, that I am considering buying the physical book.
It is a great loss that the author, mr. Edward Said passed away at a relatively young age.
In checking Audible you will find a number of books, by other authors, that tie into this subject.
It will be interesting to re-read certain classics with a different point of view.
The narrator, mr. Peter Gamin, did an outstanding job.
My thanks to Audible for making the book available and I am looking for other books along this line, JK.



















The narrator, mr. Peter Ganim, did an outstanding job.
My thanks to Audible for making the book available and I am looking for other books along this line, JK.

Audible should do more of these kinds of books

What did you love best about Culture and Imperialism?

This is one of Said's most accessible works, and has a lot to offer. The fact that it is a long sequence of essays does lead to trying to listen to it straight through, and not all the pieces are gold. But that's not my point in writing a review. I'm writing it because like another reviewer says here, this is a REAL BOOK. Audible is clogging itself with every single vampire/insipid-spirational/cheap suspense series book in the known universe. There's way too much junk on Audible now and not nearly enough stuff for people who want to learn about real issues (and not just through bashed-out polemics about Obama or the Founders). Again, there should be MORE stuff like "C&I" here for the customers who don't really give a fang about Sookie Stackhouse or whatever.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Culture and Imperialism?

I am a grown-up and like reading stuff for grown-ups. Said is a grown-up writing about grown-up stuff in a grown-up way. Like what he says about culture and imperialism. That was a memorable moment...oh wait, that was the book!!!

Which character – as performed by Peter Ganim – was your favorite?

Kudos to Ganin for taking this on and doing a great job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

n/a