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9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Great Book May 06, 2009
By Mohamad Alkhatatbeh
"Abu Kattab"
This banned book is a must read for everyone. "The Last Pharaoh" dissects the political life in Egypt and Arab countries. The book raised the ire of the Mubarak's government as it exposes the deep corruption, grave human rights abuses, and the authoritarianism of the Mubarak's regime.
Packed with facts and telling the story of both modern and ancient Egypt, how the modern Arab and Islamic Worlds evolved, and interviewing experts, politicians, journalists and Western diplomats, Elaasar reveals the secrets of the personality cults behind Mubarak and other Middle Eastern leaders, and how religion has been exploited to give legitimacy to these oppressive regimes-- resulting into exporting extremism globally and undermining America's efforts in the War on Terror.
Egypt's old dictator is in his final days. The countdown has started. Mubarak has been in power since 1981 and was elected for six more years in 2005. Concerns about Mubarak's health draw much greater attention to the question of who will next rule the nation of Egypt? Succession plan for Mubarak's son Gamal is already in place. "When it happens, it will rock the world..: octogenarian Mubarak, will leave office, either by his own decision or that of Providence, probably within the next three years. So far, few in the West have paid much attention. But Egyptians certainly are getting ready, and we should do so as well", says Georgetown University Professor Michelle Dunne, expert on Arab politics and U.S. policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The author says the next U.S. president will need to pay close attention to the volatile political situation in Egypt, one of America's strongest and most important allies in the Middle East. The author believes U.S. policymakers now face a difficult choice: continuing to support the iron-fisted rule of Egypt's current president and his likely hand-picked successor, or backing a beleaguered democratic opposition that some believe could open the door to Islamic fundamentalist rule.
In this book, Egyptian-American writer Aladdin Elaasar offers the next American president his blunt assessment of Egypt's near-term outlook. Elaasar believes Mubarak, America's "strong man" in Egypt and the recipient of billions of dollars in U.S. military and development aid, is losing his grip on power after 28 years of autocratic rule.
The author believes there are many signs that time is running out for Mubarak, who succeeded Sadat after the 1981 assassination. Elaasar says Egypt's severe economic problems are just one sign that Mubarak's grip on power is loosening. "There is about 37% unemployment in Egypt," Elaasar notes. "There is about 2% to 5% of the people who monopolize the economy and these people are elites around Mubarak and his party. And there is at least 40% of the people in Egypt who live under the poverty line. So there are a lot of indications of social ailments and illnesses and we need to pay attention to that."
Elaasar cites the Mubarak government's well-documented use of repression and police-state tactics to intimidate or silence its political opponents. Those tactics earned Mubarak strong rebukes from the U.S. and other countries following the 2005 presidential election, which critics claim was massively rigged to ensure a Mubarak victory. And Elaasar sees a rising tide of popular frustration and dissatisfaction with Mubarak that encompasses labor unions, teachers, lawyers, judges and youth throughout the country.
The situation in Egypt today is similar of Iran just before the 1979 overthrow of the Shah by Islamic fundamentalists. Mubarak reminds me of the last days of the Shah. He was living a life of extravagance and surrounded by his elites. He was so oppressive. And that paved the way for the extreme right to come in. And we know the rest of the story.
In The Last Pharaoh, Elaasar writes that the next American president can expect one of several difficult scenarios to unfold in Egypt in the months ahead. "The Mubarak regime is preparing itself for the next step," the author explains, "which is making his son, Gamal Mubarak, to be the next president of Egypt. But the other scenario that can play out is that there are other political powers, so it could be the extreme religious right that can take over, or things can get out of control because of the poverty level and the suffering of the Egyptian people, so the people in the street can do something when things reach a very desperate level."Author Elaasar urges the next American president to shift U.S. policies on Egypt toward strategies that promote democracy in the country.
"We really need to make sure that there would be democracy and change," Elaasar warns, "because if this does not start, people reach the extent of desperateness. And then desperateness breathes out all kinds of violence and all kinds of extremism that opens the door for extremists to jump in and pretend they have the solution."
The author says the worst-case scenario in Egypt would be a military coup, which would turn Egypt into what he describes as a "God-knows-what" regime.
Whatever the fate of the Mubarak regime, author Elaasar believes significant change in Egypt's government will have profound effects on the region, and on U.S. interests in the Middle East. For that reason, he believes, the next U.S. President will need to follow developments in this Arab nation with a watchful and wary eye.
Visible signs of discord between the United States and Egypt over a wide array of issues have appeared in recent years. Equally alarming is the rise of anti-American conspiracy theories in Egypt's state media.
Haunted by the memories of the overnight fall of the Shah of Iran to the Ayatollahs, U.S. policymakers fear a similar event in Egypt. Once thought to be a strong U.S. ally, the Shah of Iran, lost his grip over power to the zealous clergy sabotaging every effort for peace and stability in the region. Marcos and Suharto, two old dictators considered strong U.S. allies, as well, fell to the angry mobs in the Philippines and Indonesia.
President Obama is likely to find himself facing an unbelievably bad choice in the largest Arab country, says Elaasar-- discussing several scenarios that can take place in Egypt. "Would America intervene militarily to preserve Gamal's faltering rule? Would an ambitious general stage another coup, turning Egypt into a God -knows-what regime? Would that general ally himself with Muslim radical groups like the Muslim Brothers, Hamas, or Hezbollah? Would Egypt witness another Khomeini-style revolution? Considering the alarming rising poverty figures in Egypt and the disparities between the classes, could Egypt be overrun by an angry and hungry mob, French Revolution style? Egypt would then erupt into lawlessness, chaos, or perhaps civil war with the dissolving of the central government, its head figures and its upper class already preparing for such a turn of events.
Whatever the scenario would be, spill over from what could occur in Egypt in the near future would impact many nations, Elaasar warns in his book "The Last Pharaoh".
But with the global recession now reaching down deeply into emerging markets, serious cracks emerge in the Mubarak regime's facade. Unemployment is - unofficially - somewhere north of 30 percent. Worse, it's highly concentrated among youth, whose demographic bulge currently generates 800,000 new jobseekers every year.
That's the bold prediction offered by journalist Aladdin Elaasar in his book, "The Last Pharaoh." Elaasar argues that American policymakers could soon face the same tough choice on Egypt that they once suffered with Iran's faltering Shah: step in with maximum effort during a succession crisis or let the chips fall where they may.
The specter of an unstable Egypt abutting the already highly unstable and violent Horn of Africa (e.g., Sudan, Somalia) looms large in our near-term worries.
Like Palestine's Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood has made a serious effort at providing social services to a disgruntled population of 80-plus million that receives the slimmest of safety nets from a government more interested in political order than social justice.
Elaasar's book raises troubling questions about U.S. policy toward the world's largest Arab state. Washington's soft peddling of democracy hasn't moved the highly corrupt government toward any serious political reform. And as the regime resorts to stoking anti-Western and anti-Semitic popular sentiment, it gets harder to imagine a path forward for U.S.-Egyptian relations.
All I can say, Mr. President-Elect, is that when you decide which major Islamic capital will be the venue for your much-anticipated address to the Muslim world, do yourself a favor and pass on restive Cairo, because you just might trigger more response than your administration can afford right now.
Mohamed
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Important but flawed book on critical subject matter Jun 06, 2010
By A. Sarkin
Like some of the other reviewers, I found the quality of the editing to be lacking and at times distracting. While I am not personally a fan of books or works that string together quotes, this does not always occur in this book, though it does occur with some frequency, particularly in the earlier chapters. The upside is that the high number of quotes makes this book is useful for seeking out and evaluating primary sources.
I think this book is a good primer for the uninitiated. The bottom line is that if you are wondering about what is coming next in the Middle East, this book is a reasonable introduction to the topic. If you are familiar with the situation, you might find some of the sources of interest.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Honest account of Egypt today Jan 20, 2010
By amged Yousef
A great detailed read for anyone who is interested in knowing, and understanding Egypt today. Excellent A honest account of all aspects of the Egyptian society. Especially the emergency laws, the iron fist of the so called democratic government, the political dictatorship of Mubarak a, the corruption that manifest itself in practically everything that is Egyptian. The obvious violent discrimination, the Christians face on a daily basis.
Egypt had the glamour of the pharos, the pyramids, and the mystical civilization once it was. However after reading this book, you get a nod in your stomach and you ll never think of Egypt the same way again. It is sad but true.
Yes, the book has a multitude of spelling and grammar errors, however the context is powerful, revealing and complete, that's what dictate a great book in my opinion.
10 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 ...ugh... unreadable and unoriginal Mar 18, 2009
By Christopher J. Weeks
This book is a litany of strung-together regurgitated quotes from other books and articles, with no real overarching narrative and no apparent original research or insights. It covers the currently-fashionable, standard bases of "things that are wrong with Egypt" -- corruption, lack of democracy, human rights abuses, threat of militant Islam, anti-American and anti-Israeli views. The serious scholar and reader would be much better served avoiding this book at all costs and reading more credible works by John R. Bradley, Maye Kassem, Bruce K. Rutherford, Robert Springborg, Eberhard Kienle, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, etc, etc, etc.
Worst of all, this book is unbelievably horribly produced and edited. Every page is riddled with typographical and minor factual errors, further undermining whatever value this book has.
6 of 9 found the following review helpful:
One the worst produced books Jun 15, 2009
By A. Zedan
I'll start by saying that I really wanted to like this book...really! I agree with Christopher, it is one of the worst edited books I've ever read. It is full of factual mistakes and typographical errors. Moreover, the author reproduces several articles that were written in the press, some as long as three pages.
I am no fan of the Mubarak regime, but this made for buzz nonsense is atrocious. There is no intellectual or scholarly rigor here. Save your dollars and trees, read anything but this garbage.
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