Circling the Square: Stories from the Egyptian Revolution

Steavenson (Stories I Stole), the New Yorker's Egypt correspondent from 2011 to 2012, offers vivid, illuminating, if at times superficial impressions of the protests which overthrew Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime. Arriving in Cairo just after the "Day of Rage" (January 28) saw the police cede control of the streets, including massive Tahrir Square, Steavenson aimed to understand the various currents feeding, resisting, and transforming Egypt's popular democratic revolution. This account also draws heavily on the experiences of her acquaintances within the diverse opposition movement. The story culminates in the election of Egypt's first democratically elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, and his downfall a year later in another, even larger uprising that divides the revolution into two competing factions%E2%80%94both ultimately and violently superseded by the Egyptian military. Steavenson comes away with more questions than answers, and a rueful appreciation of history's complexity. Readers looking for in-depth political analysis or historical context will be disappointed. Nevertheless, the author's proximity to and resolute identification with the ordinary people and extraordinary spirit of possibility in Tahrir Square in those heady days conveys subtleties that can be missed by more erudite top-down analyses, and they make for a breathless ride into what was then an unfolding drama. (July)