David D. Kirkpatrick

A superb book from the the NYT Cairo bureau chief from 2011-2015. David Kirkpatrick lived in Cairo and witnessed the Arab Spring first hand as well as the military coup that deposed a democratically elected Morsi in 2013. He captures the major actors and paints a vivid picture of not only what was going on on the ground in Cairo during these violent times, but Washington's divided opinions on what was happening. While the Muslim Brotherhood's man Morsi was a second rate, ham-fisted leader, he represented an attempt to overcome the long-entrenched autocratic rule of a struggling country. Like any political group, the Brotherhood had its enemies, both within the deep state of the Egyptian bureaucracy and without, from opposing parties to the Saudis who helped bankroll the effort against them. What they were not was a terror organization. What they were not is an affiliate with AQ or ISIS; smears against an organization that was itself disunited and not always capable of speaking with one voice, but definitely a group of well-educated, well-intended Egyptians who sought change for the better. While Sisi continue to reign over a brutal autocracy, Kirkpatrick's book does leave the reader with faith in the Egyptian people; that they do want better for themselves and succeeding generations.… (mehr)