For the last decade Hanif Kureishi has been writing about the rising tensions between Islam and the West - in his essays, as well as works of fiction such as The Black Album and My Son the Fanatic, which was subsequently filmed. Over these ten years the argument between the East and the West has evolved from one of constructive dicussion to one of a refusal to engage - where the bomb speaks louder than the word. This volume contains extracts from Kureishi’s work over the past ten years, as well the pieces he has recently written in response to the July bombings in London. The book also contains a specially written essay in which Kureishi provides a historical perspective for the current conflict. Since the publication of The Buddha of Suburbia Kureishi has been a perceptive and provocative critic of the times in which we live.