Before the Throne: Dialogs With Egypt's Great from Menes to Anwar Sadat. Amer Univ in Cairo Press. 2009.
FIC Mahfouz
Library Journal Reviews
An early work by the only Arab writer yet to receive the Nobel Prize in literature, Cairo Modern was originally published in 1945 and was first issued in English in 2008 by the American University in Cairo Press, in the same translation that appears here. His fifth novel overall and the second to be set in 20th-century Egypt, it captures Mahfouz in a fiery, youthful stage. Though largely a work of social realism, the story has strands of the existentialism that would figure heavily in Mahfouz's later novels. Mahfouz explores the lives of several recent university graduates in 1930s Cairo, particularly that of Mahgub, a poor but ambitious young man whose life spirals out of control as he fiercely pursues a place among the upper class. Throughout, Mahfouz displays a mastery of character development and strong control of his themes, mainly the consequences of trying to escape one's fate.
Also appearing in English this fall, Before the Throne (1983) offers a glimpse of a very different side of this author's prodigious talents. In this distinctive work, written largely in dramatic dialog, Mahfouz is concerned with understanding his country's identity through an exploration of its ancient history. The novel is set in a courtroom, with the sun god, Osiris, presiding. One by one, the great leaders of Egypt's past, beginning with King Menes of the First Dynasty, are summoned to defend their accomplishments and explain their faults. Osiris makes the final judgment and determines the fate of each leader's soul for eternity. Those granted immortality remain in the courtroom and may participate in subsequent trials, which leads to such unusual situations as Ramesses II confronting President Anwar el-Sadat. In the heated discussions that inevitably take place, Mahfouz shows how the defining ideals of a nation evolve. VERDICTCairo Modern reads like a classic, gripping the reader from the first pages, a testament not only to Mahfouz but to translator Hutchins. Newcomers to Mahfouz may wish to start with this more accessible novel or other works like the Cairo Trilogy and Midaq Alley. Despite its brevity and the experimental structure, Before the Throne is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in Egyptian history or literature. It's a small gem.—Forest Turner, Suffolk Cty. House of Correction Lib., Boston
B Boyd
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Boyd's brilliant career as a journalist, from a reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch rising to managing editor of the New York Times, will unfortunately be remembered for the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal in 2003. In this powerful memoir, Boyd recalls his climb from poverty, love of journalism, and thirst for racial equality. From his college days, Boyd challenged the limitations set for minorities in journalism, helping to develop scholarships and training programs for minorities interested in journalism. But the newspaper he most loved proved to be the greatest challenge to his convictions. Boyd recalls racial animosity in the newsroom, tensions that came to a boil when he and Executive Editor Howell Raines were blamed as Blair's transgressions came to light and threatened the credibility of the venerable New York Times. Boyd, under whose tenure the paper won 10 Pulitzer Prizes, lays bare his own insecurities, the massive egos of some colleagues, and internecine battles over news coverage. He recalls his struggle to recover from his fall from grace as the first black editor of the paper in its 150-year history and with cancer (which took his life in 2006). Photographs, recollections of friends and colleagues, and an afterword by Boyd's widow, writer Robin Stone, add further dimension to this poignant memoir and candid look at race and newsgathering. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
Posthumous memoir of the first African-American managing editor of the New York Times.Boyd (1950–2006) was the youngest child in a poor St. Louis family, and his young mother died when he was three. The subsequent departure of his father caused the feelings of "fatalism" that would saturate his early adulthood. Raised by his stern yet loving grandmother, Boyd sought guidance and protection from his older brother, a cousin and, during his teens, the Coopers, a compassionate Jewish family. Through forced bussing and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Boyd emerged impassioned by writing and was awarded a scholarship to the University of Missouri, along with a copyboy job at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As his confidence and professional acumen grew—along with his awareness of "openly racist attitudes and slights"—he fell in love with and married Sheila, a fellow writer. Though the marriage dissolved years later, Boyd's career blossomed—first as a White House correspondent, followed by years of laborious, racially challenging ladder-climbing he calls "the ugly underside of life at the Times." The author's courageous fight for racial equality both inside and outside the workplace never ceased, and he smartly remarks that in America's newsrooms, African-Americans "have been tolerated but rarely embraced." Eventually the fact-heavy text becomes consumed with episodes of newsroom drama, including his love/hate relationship with the Times' "pragmatic" executive editor Howell Raines. After remarrying and starting a family, Boyd's bubble burst with his involuntary resignation following the fallout from the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal in 2003. Photographs and chapters prefaced by anecdotal commentary from peers and friends add integrity to a comprehensive, noteworthy memoir.An important, culturally sensitive portrait of success, failure and atonement. Copyright Kirkus 2009 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Boyd's appointment to the role of managing editor of the New York Times in 2001 made him the first African-American to hold one of the paper's top two editing positions, and his leadership helped the Times garner numerous Pulitzers. But colleagues found him gruff and imposing—a perception he attributed to racial bias—and he was forced to resign after a young reporter named Jayson Blair was caught plagiarizing and fabricating stories in 2003. In this memoir, Boyd, who died in 2006, comes across as a relentlessly ambitious man who overcame poverty, racism, and a rocky personal life to become one of the most powerful newsmen of his day. Unfortunately, Boyd proves to be a merely competent narrator: the prose is smooth but lacks flair, and the vignettes themselves are disappointingly dry. The notable exception is the treatment of the Blair scandal: Boyd's blow-by-blow is animated by indignation and gives a rare glimpse into the rancorous world of newsroom politics. Although as a source of objective truth the memoir is more suspect than a news story, Boyd's perspective is crucial to understanding the crisis that unfolded at the Times in 2003.
New York: Penguin Press, 2010.
307.7609 K
[300 is for Social Sciences in Dewey. 307 is for Communities]
Booklist Reviews
Assuming that America will increase to 400 million people in the next 40 years, Kotkin divines demographic consequences in this catalog of predictions. Optimistic in contrast to elite opinions on the Left and the Right that see America in decline, Kotkin's views are not certitudes: the author regularly cautions that if certain things are not done, such as ensuring an economic environment of upward mobility, his vision of the future may not come to pass. Caveats dealt with, Kotkin essentially asks where the extra 100 million will live. Because some of them are already here—those born or who have immigrated since the early 1980s—Kotkin tends to extrapolate present trends. After a career-starting stint in the big city, family-raising aspirations send people to the suburbs and, increasingly in the Internet-connected world, to small towns and rural areas. Describing specific locales, Kotkin anticipates a revitalization of older suburbs and even a repopulation of the Great Plains. As sociological futurists engage with Kotkin's outlook, the opportunity for critics lies in the author's lesser attention to the environmental and political effects of population growth. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
Think you have trouble finding a parking space today? Wait until 2050, when the American population will have grown by another 100 million.According to Forbes columnist Kotkin (The City: A Global History, 2005, etc.), that's good news. Indeed, he writes, "because of America's unique demographic trajectory among advanced countries, it should emerge by midcentury as the most affluent, culturally rich, and successful nation in human history." There are several arguments and bits of data bundled in that opener. As the author notes, most of the world's leading nations, particularly in Europe, are rapidly losing population and with it the prospect of future power and wealth. Russia's population, for example, could be one-third the size of the United States by 2050, and 30 percent of China's population will be over the age of 60 by then. Meanwhile, our future cultural richness will come from the fact that the greatest growth will be among groups that are now ethnic minorities, especially Hispanics and Asians. "Demographically at least," writes Kotkin, "America may have more in common with Third World countries with the developed world." The cultural shifts are likely to be dislocating to some, though the relentlessly optimistic author believes that the future will see a mix of traditional values and new ones leading to greater social tolerance. Whereas other nations are likely to decline precipitously, he adds, America will truly be in a position of economic dominance—though, admittedly, output might be high because no one will be able to afford to retire, given current trends. Less rosy is Kotkin's picture of a future America in which the leading cultural centers are likely to be—and elsewhere, to look like—places such as Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Miami, "multipolar, auto-dependent, and geographically vast." So much for reversing climate change, even if the author does see the rise of "greenurbia" in years to come.A fascinating glimpse into a crystal ball, rich in implications that are alternately disturbing and exhilarating.Agent: Scott Moyers/The Wylie Agency Copyright Kirkus 2009 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
Library Journal Reviews
There will be 400 million Americans by 2050, with profound socioeconomic consequences: the focus, says Kotkin, will be on local, energy-reliant communities. We'll see. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Kotkin (The City) offers a well-researched—and very sunny—forecast for the American economy, arguing that despite its daunting current difficulties, the U.S. will "emerge by midcentury as the most affluent, culturally rich, and successful nation in human history." Nourished by mass immigration and American society's "proven adaptability," the country will reign supreme over an "industrialized world beset by old age, bitter ethnic conflicts, and erratically functioning economic institutions." Although decreasing social mobility will present a challenge, demographic resources will give the U.S. an edge over its European rivals, which will be constrained by shrinking work forces and rapidly proliferating social welfare commitments. Largely concerned with migration patterns within the U.S., the book also offers a nonpartisan view of America's strengths, identifying both pro-immigration and strongly capitalist policies as sources of its continued prosperity. However, Kotkin tends to gloss over the looming and incontrovertible challenges facing the country and devotes limited space to the long-term consequences posed by the current recession, the rise of India and China, and the resulting competition over diminishing energy resources. Nevertheless, his confidence is well-supported and is a reassuring balm amid the political and economic turmoil of the moment.
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