REPRESENTATIONS OF THE INTELLECTUAL: THE REITH LECTURES

New York City, NY: Pantheon Books, 1994. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Pantheon Books, 1994. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 121 pages. The author's collection of essays on subject. One of Edward Said's most important achievements. The first appearance of the title in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, of which there are several. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents, in its First Edition format, Edward Said's "Representations of The Intellectual". The final - and definitive - transcript of his Reith Lectures, famously delivered in person as THE Reith Lectures of its time, in 1994, in conjunction with the BBC. Revisits the meaning of "intellectual" in our time of advanced technological developments and cultural anxiety. In these fraught, high technology-driven times, Said rightly points out that such figures as government technocrats, university, think tank, and media pundits, as well as climate scientists are widely considered as intellectuals by society, that is, they use their minds - rather than manual labor - to make a living, and enjoy often enormous prestige as public spokesmen on behalf of a cause, ideology, or expertise. Instead, he "makes the case that intellectuals should maintain a vigilant skepticism toward all received wisdom. Said conceives of the ideal intellectual as 'exile and marginal, as amateur, and as the author of a language that tries to speak the truth to power' " (Publisher's blurb). "Some may find an exquisite irony in the spectacle of Said, a member of the Palestinian National Council, cautioning thinkers against allowing their ideas and reputations to be co-opted by patriotism, nationalism, and various forms of group-think. But Said sees the irony as well, and he struggles honestly in these essays to describe a role for the intellectual in which the moral authority of the prophetic outsider is not purchased by forfeiting all political and social engagement" (Kirkus Reviews). An absolute "must-have" title for Edward Said collectors. This title is a great collection. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws or are subsequent printings. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce copy thus. One of the greatest literary and political writer/thinkers of the 20th century and our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER EDWARD W. SAID TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0679435867.