This remarkable study - which should be filed not under "religion", but under "media studies" - was first published in 1981, and even the addition of a new introduction incorporating Lockerbie, Bosnia and the new world order can't disguise the fact that great chunks of the text are devoted to the analysis of news coverage of events which now seem remote, and even, in retrospect, relatively lacking in complexity, such as the Iran hostage crisis and the row over the showing of the TV documentary Death of a Princess. Nevertheless, Said's rigorous intellect turns every chapter into a challenging onslaught on the received assumptions dressed up as half-truths which often masquerade as news stories, while his elegant turn of phrase makes his exemplary prose a joy to read.
A.W.