Generation Revolution

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

“Aspden’s reporting is always fascinating…an excellent social history of Egypt’s persistent pathologies, as well as a universal story about the difficulty of changing deeply ingrained societal attitudes.” —New York Times Book Review

“Generation Revolution offers sharp insight into how the youth movement came together and why it fell apart…fascinating.” —Washington Post

“Having lived on and off in Cairo for more than a decade, Aspden has a clear eye for its marvelous and maddening details…her stories are always compelling…Generation Revolution is a welcome prism, separating the spectrum of political Islam through the coming of age of its characters.” —The Guardian

“Weaving in dramatic moments of Egypt’s recent past with vivid depictions of its contemporary culture, Aspden uses her subjects’ candid narratives to reveal how the pressures of a corrupt state, a stagnating economy, a restless and disenfranchised youth, the repression of women, and the infiltration of Western innovations such as the Internet led Egyptians to erupt into revolt…a sobering but necessary education in ‘the intractable suffering in the region’ that Western countries can no longer afford to ignore.” —Publishers Weekly

“[A] fascinating study…a deep dive into one of the revolution’s most critical faultlines: the ongoing struggle waged by Egypt’s youth to articulate their own voices…What makes Generation Revolution so interesting is its weaving together of national political unrest with the micro-level dramas of daily life.” —Evening Standard

“An earnest eyewitness account of a nation in tumult.” —Kirkus Reviews