In The Egyptians: A Radical History of Egypt's Unfinished Revolution, journalist Jack Shenker delivers a raw and penetrating study of the 2011 Arab Spring in Egypt, based on firsthand accounts from the battle lines and his own participation in the revolt.
Shenker was a correspondent for the Guardian during the initial uprising in Cairo. In his prologue, he makes it clear that he took sides in the struggle, working not as a passive observer but rather as an activist journalist against the oppressive Mubarak regime. His nervy, kinetic prose works descriptive wonders: "They hauled me from the ground and frogmarched me behind police lines, slapping the back of my neck with metronomic regularity." Besides coverage of the protests at Tahrir Square, The Egyptians weaves together stories of rural farmers, factory workers and emigrants. A focus on emerging art, music and literature further evinces the range and dynamism of the revolutionary zeitgeist.
At the heart of Shenker's history, though, is a stinging critique of neoliberal economic theory and Western-style incremental reforms. The Egyptian revolution has been more than a struggle between Islamism and secular forces, Shenker argues. He shows how, without social democracy and public oversight, foreign capital and business interests in Egypt have strengthened and propped up dictatorial regimes. Even though some of his passages wander into anti-elitist, neo-Marxist cliché, there's no doubting the depth of Shenker's reportage and his exposure of a deeply corrupted and repressive system. The Egyptians belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in Middle Eastern current affairs and the future of democratic movements. --Scott Neuffer, freelance journalist and fiction author