In his last years, looking back over questions of life, history, exile, identity and Palestine, Edward Said brings his considerable intellect and deep personal engagement to bear on some of the most troubling and volatile issues of our time. In these conversations with Tariq Ali, Said ranges back over his own dislocated existence, his initiation into politics, his involvement with the Palestine cause, his approach to the study of culture and his pervasive love of literature and music. Intimate, personal, thought-provoking and absorbing, these conversations capture Said - as political activist, cultural historian, professor of literature and music aficionado - and confirm his position as one of the most passionate and thoughtful intellectuals of our times.