Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said by Timothy Brennan is a fascinating look at what helped to make Said the person, and thus the intellectual, he was.

Place is an idea that permeates Said's work, whether geographical, of the mind, or the intersection of the two. While much thought is abstract how a person frames those abstract concepts is often influenced by where they have been. Again, this can mean where one has physically lived or the mental journeys one has taken. Brennan takes us through Said's life with an eye toward the physical places he lived and worked as well as the places of the mind that he journeyed, both with his own mentors and later when he was a mentor to many.

While many readers, especially as time moves on from his popular press writings, may only be familiar with a couple of his works, this biography will hopefully lead the reader to read more of his writing. I might suggest the revised edition of The Selected Works of Edward Said, 1966-2006 that was published in early 2019. It has a nice selection from all of his major works as well as a nice cross section of his various types of writing.

Whether one agreed or disagreed with some of Said's positions, I think most would agree that he tried to be equitable and consistent in his assessments. This book will help you to better understand why he held many of the views he did.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )