Renowned leading intellectual Paul Berman conducts a searing examination into current intellectual trends, showing how some of the West's' best thinkers have fumbled badly in their efforts to grapple with Islamic ideas and how journalists have been reluctant to deal seriously with Islamist ideas and violence. In examining the legacy of these political traditions, Berman makes a striking contribution to the central debates about the Islamist movement and the reluctance of Western journalists and intellectuals to deal with the issues at hand.