In this personal portrait of Edward Sa d written by a close friend, Dominique Edd offers a fascinating and fresh presentation of his oeuvre from his earliest writings on Joseph Conrad to his most famous texts, Orientalism and Culture and Imperialism. Eddy interweaves in her original biography accounts of the genesis and content of Sa d's work, his intellectual development and her own reflections and personal recollections of their friendship, which began in 1979 and lasted until Sa d's death in 2003. Throughout she traces the connection between personal history and theoretical options, illuminating the evolution of Sa d's thinking. Both specialists of Sa d's work and newcomers will find much to learn in this rich portrait of one of the twentieth century's most important intellectuals.