Into the Hands of the Soldiers: Freedom and Chaos in Egypt and the Middle East by David D Kirkpatrick - review by Amir-Hussein Radjy

Amir-Hussein Radjy

Revolution Squared

Into the Hands of the Soldiers: Freedom and Chaos in Egypt and the Middle East

By

Bloomsbury 370pp £25
 

The history of modern Egypt perpetually hovers between farce and tragedy. Historians will grapple with the question of whether its rulers were buffoons or sinister tricksters. Today’s Egyptian state, as Into the Hands of the Soldiers shows, is a masterless leviathan, and among its greatest victims is