In his latest exploration of the Egyptian malaise, Galal Amin first looks at the events of the months preceding the Revolution of 25 January 2011, pointing out the most important factors behind popular discontent. He then follows the ups and downs (mainly the downs) of the Revolution: the causes of rising hopes and expectations, mingled with successive disappointments, sometimes verging on despair, not least in the case of the presidential elections, when the Egyptian people were invited to choose between a rock and a hard place. This is followed by an outline of a possible brighter future for Egypt, based on a more balanced and faster growing economy, and a more democratic and equitable society, within a truly independent, modern, and secular state.
The story of what happened to the 2011 Revolution may be a sad one, but if viewed within the larger context of Egypt's economic and social developments of the last century, on which the author's previous books threw very useful light, it can be regarded as one important step forward toward a much better future.

Introduction
Part One: Causes of the Revolution
1 Worse than Unemployment
2 Appropriating Public Property
3 Bequeathing What One Does Not Own
4 Selling What Cannot Be Sold
5 False Patriotism
6 A Police State
Part Two: Causes for Optimism
7 Promises of the Revolution
8 25 January
Part Three: Causes for Concern
9 A Revolution or a Coup d'Etat?
10 The Paradoxes of the Revolution
11 Muslims and Copts
Part Four: New Horizons
12 The Economy
13 Democracy
14 Social Justice
15 Dependence
16 A Secular State
17 A Modern State
Conclusion: An Abortive Revolution?

Galal Amin is emeritus professor of economics at the American University in Cairo. He is the author of Whatever Happened to the Egyptians? (AUC Press, 2000), Whatever Else Happened to the Egyptians? (AUC Press, 2004), The Illusion of Progress in the Arab World (AUC Press, 2006), and Egypt in the Era of Hosni Mubarak (AUC Press, 2011).
Jonathan Wright is a British literary translator and former journalist currently based in London. His numerous translations into English most recently include, Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, winner of International Prize for Arabic Fiction. He studied Arabic, Turkish and Islamic civilization at Oxford University and served both as Reuters' Cairo bureau chief and as Reuters' U.S. foreign policy correspondent based in their Washington, D.C. office.