Cairo Rewind: The First Two Years of Egypt's Revolution 2011-2013

Three 20th century Egyptian leaders-Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak-shaped today's Egypt, but their regimes left much to be desired politically, socially, and economically. In 2011, the January 25 Revolution promised a better future calling for "Bread, Freedom, and Social Justice." Cairo Rewind 2011-2013 recounts the events of the revolution against the Mubarak regime and the cataclysms that followed. Through the eyes of Egyptian-born Azza Sedky, the book recaptures the day-to-day excitement, and the disappointment of Egyptians throughout the largely peaceful revolution. Starting with the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, then the election of the Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi and finally the referendum to determine the fate of Morsi's new constitution, the book recalls events as they occurred. Individual articles, written throughout the two-year period since the first Tahrir protest, track the development of the revolution. The articles began as blog posts. As history, the posts give a sense of immediacy to past events. As commentary, the book reflects a moderate's vision of a secular Egyptian society whose very fragility has allowed the rise of a power group, which, by means of democratic processes, threatens to undermine the civic rights that democracies are meant to uphold.