Customer Reviews

Autumn of fury: The assassination of Sadat

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This book is a must read,to anybodyinterested in the Sadat era.It comes from a famous journalist,who is close to power in many countries,and with sources of information that are full of intrigue.A very realistic book,loaded with facts,and analysis...it gives youthe answer to what happened on theday of october 6th 1981,why did ittake place,and why the end had to belike this.i highly recommend this book,thankyou Mr. haykal

The renowned journalist M. H. Haykal has written a book that explains the fall of Anwar el Sadat, both physically (by his death) and psychologically(the collapse of Arab Nationalism and dignity). This book explains the life of Sadat, his rise to power, his various faults, his policies that crushed Arab nationalism, and finally his death on the hands of one his own soldiers. This book is extremely debatable,however, the views expressed are neutral and the facts clearly outlined. This book has the answer to any Arab wishing to know why the Arab nationalism collapsed after Nasser's death. I recommend this book, as it is informative and extremely lucid and vibrant in manner. Haykal proves that his style is irresistable.

This book is one of the best if you are interested about egypt's recent history...it comes from a great writer..and at the same timesomeone who's been close to all parties involved in the story. Full of secret details, relatesfacts together..and makes alot ofsensable interptation of well knownbut poorly understood incidents. This book is a must have.i personally read it more than 11 timesi highly recommend it.

HI THERE...I LIKE TO SAY THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I READ THIS BOOK, IT AMAZED ME BY THE DETAILS IT PROVIDES AND HOW EASY IT IS TO COMPREHEND THE CONTENT OF THE BOOK...IT MADE GET MORE INTERESTED IN THE MIDDLE EAST ..I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO KNOW THE FACTS AS THEY ARE .

Very eloquent story about Sadat, just a shame that it is not in print anymore.

Haykal does a good job of detailing the rise and fall of Anwar Sadat. For those in the know, when Sadat was assassinated, few of the populace mourned the passing of this great man. He led the Arabs to victory, and he made a great gamble and went to Jerusalem to seek peace. The peace dividend did not amount to much, and the Israelis used Sadat to some extent.
Haykal who is a prominent journalist in Egypt details the conditions in Sadat's Egypt. They were conditions which were similar to the Shah's Iran. Both Christians and Muslims were very discontented. The IMF wanted food subsidies to go down which caused rioting in the streets. Parliament, journalists, and the bureaucrats were muzzled. Haykal details this in the majority of the book.
The last two sections of the book deal with the unrest and assasination of Sadat. I was not in full agreement with what the author stated in the summary. He detailed how Sadat gave in to an imperial Israel who was trying to dominate the region. I felt like saying give me a break. He stated that Israel was the main terrorist in the region. Of course that would explain how Palestinians like to hijack aircraft and blow things up. This is the typical poor Arab, bad Jew views expressed in most Arab areas. It is not objective and does not hold up to the available evidence.
Sadat was human. He broke the mode by choosing peace rather than endless war. He had democratic tendencies, but he was an authoritarian leader. This book pointed out all Sadat's weaknesses but also gave this man credit for what he did. Muslim fundamentalist terrorists killed this great man, but Haykal points out that if he was not killed, he might have been overthrown. I have read Sadat's autobiography In Search of Identity, but reading this book gives a more balanced view of this great man.

The renowned journalist M. H. Haykal has written a book that explains the fall of Anwar el Sadat, both physically (by his death) and psychologically(the collapse of Arab Nationalism and dignity). This book explains the life of Sadat, his rise to power, his various faults, his policies that crushed Arab nationalism, and finally his death on the hands of one his own soldiers. This book is extremely debatable,however, the views expressed are neutral and the facts clearly outlined. This book has the answer to any Arab wishing to know why the Arab nationalism collapsed after Nasser's death. I recommend this book, as it is informative and extremely lucid and vibrant in manner. Haykal proves that his style is irresistable.