Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution

by John R. Bradley

Overview

First published in 2008 with the subtitle The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution, this strikingly prophetic and critically acclaimed book caused an international media firestorm when it was banned by former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. When the revolution it uniquely predicted took place in January 2011, Inside Egypt became essential reading for anyone wanting to understand what led to revolutionary upheaval in the Arab world's most populous country. In a new Afterword, the author explores the revolution itself, and ponders the still precarious future of a country he lived in for a decade.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230614376
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/18/2009
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

John R. Bradley is a widely published correspondent. Fluent in Egyptian Arabic, he is also the author of Saudi Arabia Exposed, Behind the Veil of Vice, and Tunisian Tsunami. He now divides his time between North Africa and Latin America.

Table of Contents

A Failed Revolution
The Brothers
Sufis and Christians
The Bedouin
Torture
Corruption
Lost Dignity
Egypt after Mubarak

Editorial Reviews

If you want to understand how Egypt got to this crossroads, read this book.” —Fareed Zakaria, recommending Inside Egypt as his Book of the Week (CNN)

“Bradley's book suggests Egypt's rupture had clear omens… and was promptly banned by the Mubarak government.” —New Yorker

“This dark and sober look at contemporary Egypt... offers a compelling explanation for the anger on the streets of Cairo” —The Christian Science Monitor

“A blistering overview of what it's like to live in this autocratic, hopelessly corrupt society. Terrifically well told and extremely sobering.” —Kirkus Reviews

“An original, angry, brilliant, subtle, and highly readable exposé of contemporary Egyptian politics and society.” —Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc. and The Osama bin Laden I Know

“Informed and immensely readable.” —Literary Review (UK)

“Essential reading for anyone interested in modern Egypt and the looming dramas of the Arab world.” —United Press International

“In this highly readable and thoughtful volume, Bradley provides a devastating critique of Egypt's [former] dictatorial government.” —LIBRARY JOURNAL

From the Publisher

If you want to understand how Egypt got to this crossroads, read this book.

recommending Inside Egypt as his Book of the Week Fareed Zakaria

Egypt has long played a pivotal role in the Arab world's cultural and political development. Today, one out of four Arabs is an Egyptian. Furthermore, Egypt is crucial to Washington's strategic goals in the Middle East. However, as journalist Bradley (Saudi Arabia Exposed) demonstrates, Egypt suffers from a host of sociopolitical and economic problems that are undermining the government's stability. In this highly readable and thoughtful volume, Bradley provides a devastating critique of Egypt's current dictatorial government. He traces the evolution of Egypt's authoritarianism from the end of the monarchy in 1952 (and the emergence of Nasserism) to the Mubarak regime. His fluency in Egyptian Arabic allows him to see Egypt and its myriad social problems through the eyes of ordinary people who are the real victims of the pervasive corruption, torture, and other degradation of life in that country. In addition, as Bradley clarifies, its pro-Western dictatorship makes Egypt Washington's favored destination for the practice of "rendition," which sends individuals overseas to be tortured. This book is aimed at the general reader, but scholars would also benefit from the author's keen insight. Recommended for academic and public libraries.
—Nader Entessar Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

School Library Journal

Journalist Bradley (Saudi Arabia Exposed, 2005) trains a sharp reportorial eye on the nearly failed nation-state in the cross hairs of world conflict. The author doesn't dwell too long on Egypt's storied past. Instead, he gives a blistering overview of what it's like to live today in this autocratic, hopelessly corrupt society. The Egypt he depicts is a place where anyone can be jailed or tortured at any time for no reason, where Islamic fundamentalism is slowly gaining a foothold among people formerly proud of their diverse heritage, where in some places the only viable form of employment for young men is prostitution, both gay and straight. Bradley also examines why the United States spends $2 billion per year propping up President Hosni Mubarak ("the third-longest-ruling Egyptian leader in the past four thousand years"), despite his crackdowns on anything approaching democracy and his blatant favoring of anything that will bring in more tourist dollars over the best interests of the Egyptian populace. Mubarak is able to gin up American interest, the author notes, by playing up the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood, a nominally political organization that provides social services far more efficiently than the government does and wants to reinstate the Caliphate. Needless to say, Bradley isn't hopeful about the future, fearing that an Iranian-style theocracy is in the cards for a once-proud nation whose pedigree dates back more than 5,000 years. Unlikely to win the author any friends among the Egyptian political elite, but terrifically well told and extremely sobering.

Kirkus Reviews