Mark LavieCritiques

I was interested in about the first three-quarters of this book. It mostly covers Egypt, Egyptians, and a variety of experiences with and opinions on politics, day-to-day life and a variety of other things. For instance, I had no idea about the extent of illegal housing in Cairo or Egypt in general. The sections about Egyptian Jews and the slow demographic collapse of the community were also interesting. The pictures in the file I got were all colorized and all appeared relevant to the issues being discussed.

Then towards the end there's a long stretch that is more about Israel and Palestine than Egypt. I wouldn't have minded so much if it was more/mostly about Egypt's role in these things, but I did not get that impression. I did get the impression that this book was also aimed at an Israeli audience, which presumably would be more interested in these opinions than me. Unfortunately I thought this part dragged down most of the rest of the book. Especially the parts that were more about defending the Israeli government and saying "every surrounding country is worse". All things considered, that part left an unfortunate bad mental taste in my head, since it's the capper to the book.

After two years in Cairo during the “Arab Spring”, Mark Lavie offers a collection of views and observations on woman’s place in Egypt; the local and national economy, the inability of parties to form a coalition, and inability of a party to govern in their own right or at least with the tacit approval or backing of the military.
The last chapter just leaves me up in the air.

Mark Lavie takes us to his second home Egypt, where he stayed in Cairo and Alexandria during the past four years. In Broken Spring: An American-Israeli Reporter’s Close-Up View of How Egyptians Lost Their Struggle for Freedom he gives us from the view of the common person his and Egyptians’ sad stories, every day life encounters and photographs of demonstrations, the Egyptian economy. He helps to destroy s myths on religious influences such as those purported to be from the Muslim Brotherhood. Broken Spring is a trip down different peoples memory lanes, those of broken promises of democracy, false hopes held out for freedom of press, local feelings and solutions for both a Palestinian State as well as Israel. I whole-heartedly recommended for readers wanting to learn more of the backgrounds of the current state of affairs in Egypt and the Middle East to read this well written book.

This is a good introductory read on present day Egypt and the politics of the region. To begin with it reads like a string of brief news articles about the current political climate and realities of life in Cairo for a foreign resident. Lavie's home is in Israel and he took a 2 year assignment from 2011 to be placed in Cairo and report from there. The chapters, while a bit haphazad and short, are quite illuminating and he often compares life in Cairo to life in Israel, There were a couple of interesting chapters about women and their rights, especially in their treatment in public, Lavie saw this up close when his wife came for an extended stay. The focus shifts a bit to cover past and present Jewish life in Egypt, Israeli politics and the Middle East in general with the current rise of Islamism. I enjoyed Lavie's humour and his personal insights into daily life, the friendly people he encounters and his analysis of the political and economic turmoil that Egypt has been through in the past few years. Overall Lavie insists Egypt's biggest problem is economic not political.

The Arab Spring (at least that was the perception some years ago) in countries as Libya or Egypt, dominated newspapers' front pages for only a limited time. Today's newspaper is wrapping tomorrow's fish. Mark Lavie takes his readers to his second homeland, Egypt, where he stayed in Cairo and Alexandria during the past four years. In Broken Spring: An American-Israeli Reporter's Close-Up View of How Egyptians Lost Their Struggle for Freedom he shares his and Egyptians' tragic stories, real-life encounters and photographs of demonstrations, the Egyptian economy, fuel prices and wheat subsidies. He busts myhts on religious influences, Muslim Brotherhood, traffic in Cairo. He tells how he is bargaining, or visits the Gizeh pyramids. As country having a peace treaty with Israel, conflicts over Nile water with Ethiopia, strong economic ties with Turkey, and an almost disappeared Jewish life in the large cities, there's a lot to tell, that not has been featured in the newspapers. Broken Spring is a trip down memory lane: broken promises of democracy, false hopes for freedom of press, inadequacy of United Nations Human Rights statements, local polls and solutions for both a Palestinian State as well as Israel. Short chapters, well-written, humor included. Recommended for readers wishing to learn more of the backgrounds of the current state of affairs in Egypt and the Middle East.

Check out my review: http://manoflabook.com/wp/?p=11334

The Isreali born author has lived 2 years as a correspondent in Cairo. 40 essays about the afterglow of the 'Egyptian Spring' are the result of his stay.
Quite often the book is a bit repetitive, however, the stories reveal a good deal of Egyptian idiosyncrasies - what has to be fixed in the downtrodden economy, why the Egyptian women are permanently harassed, why the military, it seems, is the only solution for the country.
Below the line: A quick read that gives fast insights.

What the author had to say about Egypt's "Arab spring" could have been said in two chapters, one about the events and one about their economy. He made it book length by repeating himself, telling personal stories and then commenting on other Middle East issue. Not surprisingly, they were presented from a pro-Israeil viewpoint.

This book is a personal account of various happenings in the MidEast. The most fascinating, and informative, sections are about Egypt. The author, although Jewish, lives part of the time in Cairo. He comments on how friendly the Egyptians are and how difficult life is in Cairo. His analysis of why the Egyptian economy is in such a mess and why Egypt can never convert into a democracy is very informative. Another helpful section is his view that President Morsi was not overthrown
because he was an Islamic radical, but rather because he was simply incompetent. The author/reporter writes about very recent events. Although spotty, the book is a good one. I give it 4 stars.