Generation Revolution: On the Front Line Between Tradition and Change in the Middle East

British journalist Aspden, who lived in Cairo from 2003 to 2004 and from 2011 until 2015, shows Egypt’s recent revolution through the eyes of the young people who demanded it, fought for it, and suffered most from its eventual failure. Weaving in dramatic moments of Egypt’s recent past with vivid depictions of its contemporary culture, Aspden uses her subjects’ candid narratives to reveal how the pressures of a corrupt state, a stagnating economy, a restless and disenfranchised youth, the repression of women, and the infiltration of Western innovations such as the Internet led Egyptians to erupt into revolt. Using the same gritty narrative technique, she draws a horrifying picture of the consequences of the 2011 revolution, notably the military coup of 2013 that led to tragic loss of life and plunged the country into worse crime, repression, discontent, and fear. Her insights into trends such as the groundswell of religious conservatism are sound yet concise. Despite the hopelessness and demoralization that prevail in her conclusion, she holds out hope that Egypt’s young people will again see a path to freedom. The book offers a sobering but necessary education in “the intractable suffering in the region” that Western countries can no longer afford to ignore. [em](Feb.) [/em]