Woman of Egypt

In her overwritten and artless autobiography, the widow of the assassinated Egyptian leader recounts her religious and nationalistic renaissance in the wake of World War II, her courtship by the impoverished, antiroyalist revolutionary Sadat and her parents' disapproval, the couple's early financial struggles, the ""shameful'' excesses of the new republic, her reforms for women's rights and the dangers and rewards of the presidency. Her evocative descriptions capture the camaraderie of village women as well as soldiers' gory war wounds. Unfortunately, much here is propagandistic and self-serving (``I do not know where my energy came from or how I had the courage to face so many dreadfully injured men''), and the portrait of her husband, however affecting, approaches hagiography. This is not the astute political study of Anwar Sadat one would expect from a wife who was intimately involved in her husband's governance. Photos not seen by PW. Major ad/promo; first serial to People; paperback rights to Pocket Books; BOMC alternate; author tour. (August 12)