Recommended books about Egypt

I often find reading literature about the country I am traveling to gives me a greater insight to what I might experience. I reached out to a few peeps and got the following responses.  There are links attached so click away and download some late summer reading to that Kindle!!

From 43places.com:


"Hey! I highly recommend  Whatever Happened to the Egyptians by Dr.Galal Amin.  It gives you a snapshot of Egypt after the 1952 revolution until the present days."

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"Not sure about travel guides or non-fiction but  The Cairo Trilogy by Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz is one my favourite literary works and give a fascinating insight into modern Egyptian history and culture. It takes a little while (about half the first book) to get into but once you do you will be immersed I guarantee."

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The Yacoubian Building by Alaa al Aswany
The biggest seller has been the 2002 novel seen as kicking off the new wave. This book depicts an Egypt where the dreams of the poor are constantly shattered, while corruption, social injustices and religious extremism flourish.


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Cairo: The City Victorious by Max Rodenbeck
Every great city deserves a book like this one: a sweeping chronicle by an author whose motives mix passion and bewilderment. Over the course of four and a half millennia, Cairo has eluded all who would try to pin it down, reinventing itself time and again: "It has survived countless invasions, booms and busts, famines, plagues, and calamities."


You may want to check out  43places.com yourself. It is a great place to get tips from adventurous people all over the world.

And from our Egypt coordinator, Carolyn Agee:

Taxi by Khaled Al Khamissi.

"This is a really good picture of modern day Cairo with some socio-political
commentary from an Egyptian's perspective. 


 I would also really recommend a new documentary called Garbage Dreams (which you can get on Netflix), about the Zebellin (garbage collectors in Cairo). 


This is where Habitat's work started in Egypt and gives a great picture of the contrast between modern industry and third world poverty. Unfortunately, I've not found a lot of helpful media about rural Egypt, but this is a great place to start."


Let the rest of the team know what you've picked - maybe we can have a book group discussion.  I've read the first book in  Cairo Trilogy, and indeed it is slow to start but rich in historical detail.