The press is central to our understanding of the development of free speech, civil society, political life and cultural expression. This volume presents twelve detailed studies dealing with cases drawn from the Middle East and North Africa in the period before independence (c.1850-1950). Framed by an authoritative introduction these explore the emergence of this important medium, its practitioners and its function as a forum and agent in political, social and cultural life in the Middle East. In taking up this focus, the collection argues that the press is both a vector and an agent of history that facilitates entre into the complex process of political, social and cultural transformation that the region was undergoing during this critical period.