On Identity

(Paperback)

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Description

A lucid enquiry into the precise meaning of one of the most misapplied words and concepts in our language and one that has given rise to some of the most heated passions and crimes throughout history: identity - that which makes each of us unique and dissimilar to any other individual. The notion of identity - be it religious, ethnic, national or other - has been one of the fundamental questions of philosophy from Socrates to Freud. In this series of reflections, the author, a Lebanese who now lives in France, considers how we define ourselves and what identity has meant and continues to mean in different cultures.

Reviews

"His observation of human nature in all its facets is wonderfully accurate" -- David Robson Sunday Telegraph "His is a voice which Europe cannot afford to ignore" -- Claire Messud Guardian "This book sets out quite simply what is required of civilisation in the third millennium" Le Monde

Author Bio

Amin Maalouf's fiction includes Leo the African, Rock of Tanios, which won the 1993 Prix Goncourt, Samarkand and Ports of Call. He is also the author of an acclaimed scholarly work, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, as well as the much admired essay, 'On Identity'. Barbara Bray has twice won the Scott-Moncrieff Prize, as well as the French-American Foundation Prize, for her translations. These include The Lover by Marguerite Duras, The Concert by Ismail Kadare, and George Sand's letters in Flaubert-Sand: The Correspondence.