Description

Introduction by Neal Ascherson

In our globalised but increasingly polarised age, Kapuscinski shows how the Other remains one of the most compelling ideas of our times.

In this reflection on a lifetime of travel, the renown travel writer takes a fresh look at the Western idea of the Other: the non-European or non-American. Looking at this concept through the lens of his own encounters in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Kapuscinski traces how the West has understood the Other from classical times to colonialism, from the Age of Enlightenment to the postmodern global village.

Publisher Review

"Extraordinarily intelligent ... The lectures are as erudite as they are profound ... An astonishingly fresh and perceptive discussion of what identity means today." - Jason Burke, Observer "An alternative journey through philosophy, history and anthropology ... a powerful, quasi-religious, meditation on the power of humbling oneself in the face of the unknown." - Independent "Kapuscinski's case for humanity to accept and acknowledge `otherness' is cogent and invites further contemplation." - Financial Times "Eloquent ... remarkably thoughtful and compressed." - The Washington Post Book World