This foundational text now features a new introduction by Rashid Khalidi reflecting on the significance of his work over the past decade and its relationship to the struggle for Palestinian nationhood. Khalidi also casts an eye to the future, noting the strength of Palestinian identity and social solidarity yet wondering whether current trends will lead to Palestinian statehood and independence.

Rashid Khalidi's massive study of the construction of Palestinian national identity is a pathbreaking work of major importance. It is the first book to work from the premise that such an identity does in fact exist and then proceeds to uncover its overlapping layers, historical phases, and tragic setbacks with a complete mastery of the relevant literature in Arabic, Hebrew, and Western sources. This is an essential book for anyone trying to understand the Byzantine complexities and background of the flawed Middle East peace process... Extremely readable and gripping, Palestinian Identity is a remarkable achievement of the historian's art. -- Edward Said, author of Orientalism

About the Author
Rashid Khalidi is Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University. He is also the author of Under Siege: P. L.O. Decisionmaking During the 1982 War, The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood, and Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East, and coeditor of The Origins of Arab Nationalism.

Reviews
One of the pre-eminent historians of Palestinian nationalism. The Chronicle of Higher Education A major contribution to historical Palestinian nationalism. Foreign Affairs An impressive, thoughtful, layered, and well-documented study. Kirkus Pathbreaking. Library Journal



Book Information
ISBN 9780231150750
Author Rashid Khalidi
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press