Starting in 1978 and for a decade, Baker closely followed the intellectual and political debates in Egypt over that country's future. How are Egyptians to leave behind their myriad problems and attain a better life?
The author found institutions or groups representing eight mainstream answers to this question-significantly, none of them enjoying much of a power base in the government of Husni Mubarak. Osman Ahmed Osman, owner of the Arab Contractors, offers a vision of hard work and family values. The Egyptian Bar Association is the stronghold of democracy and liberalism. The Nasserist groups continue to proclaim the leftist, Pan-Arab nationalist dogmas of Gamal Abdel Nasser. The Marxists associated with The Vanguard journal offer old-fashioned class analysis. The Wissa Wassef School outside Cairo educates children with an eye to bringing out their natural artistry. Two intellectual centers connected with the Ahram newspaper-the Center for Political and Strategic Studies and the Economic Ahram-house dissenting assessments of the national interest and the Open Door policy, respectively. Finally, the Muslim Brothers represent the power of fundamentalist Islam.
Baker's account of these eight groups is replete with new and important information, both dispassionate and invigorating. Further, several of these groups are serious contenders for power in the future; reading Sadat and After is probably the best way to anticipate what Egypt will look like after Mubarak.
