Cairo: The City Victorious

This review is for a used paperback. It arrived promptly, but the pages were yellowed for as new as the book is, and would probably not be found on a brick and mortar bookstore shelf.The text is informative but opinionated, and some of the historical accounts don't match what is commonly believed about Cairo. That being said, if taken with the knowledge that the book is the author's opinion, it is entertaining. I just wouldn't lean on it for historical accuracy.

An outstanding concise insightful documentation of not only the history of one of the oldest and greatest cities of the world, but of Egypt in total. The author showed a remarkable local knowledge, exposed to egyptians of different intellect and psychosocial backgrounds, he managed to convey a true story of what is going on now and always compare it to what was happening in the distant past. I was born and lived in Cairo myself till my late twenties, then moved on to the rest of the world and has found this remarkable review after reading an incredible article about Egypt written in the Economist magazine by the same author. After reading it in a soft cover I went and purchased the hard cover version as this is a book I would hope my kids would get to read one day. If you are planning a trip to Cairo or if you are a true scholar this book is your key to the gates of the city, so enjoy.

This is not a travel guidebook, don’t expect to use this book to walk around Cairo and discover ancient sites. Rather, this book is an informal history of an ancient city by a writer with close knowledge of the people and culture of Cairo. Yes, you will learn a lot of interesting historical facts about the various parts of Cairo, but the book is neither a formal history nor a guidebook. But, the author’s prose makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read and evokes much of the quaint imagery of Cairo life.

An interesting history, if a little dry.

I'll be visiting Cairo next month so i wanted to read something about this city.The book is not bad when it comes to history.The author explains the political,economical and social changes with accuracy and insight.However he lets out,what i believe, important history about the city.He doesnt go into details regarding The Citadel or the islamic buildings in the city.He just mentioned them when it is relevant to the story his telling.I felt that, as i was going to be a first time visitor to the city, i wasnt getting all the neccesary info or inside scoop on the monuments ,buildings and landmarks that makes Cairo a great city.I think the author falls short in this regard.But as an introduction to the city itself is very good and gives color to the account.

Fantastic Portrayal of Cairo, history and present. Intelligently written with tremendous insight of Egyptian psyche and language. Fascinating account of history focusing on social history, traditions, habits and customs. With Egypt's long history, the social history often takes back seat to major events, battles, temples and achievements.A huge amount of serious research and very savvy analysis of trends produced an excellent work that flows easily like reading an article on the pages of good newspapers yet has the backing of tremendous research of history.Sadly, however, there is an over reliance on work and analysis of discredited Orientalists, but the author's clear love and understanding for Cairo has saved the work from being colored by the arrogance of the racist historians he relied heavily on.

Unbelievable that such a vast amount of history could be written in such an exceptional, concise way.

Very enjoyable book with sufficient detail and a lively style. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone travelling to Egypt.

This is everything you would like a history of a city to be; entertaining, informative and written by a long-term resident who is fluent in the local language. Highly readable and very enjoyable - even if you never go there, you will get a memorable insight into this fascinating city.

I tired to read this before we left for Egypt but found the whole thing too foreign to get into - maybe due to pressure to finish things off before the holiday. However once there I absolutely got into it and found it incredibly readable, informative and interesting.

Very good service. Wellp pleased.

My Egyptian boyfriend is learning lots from it ;-) He loves it.

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