Description
This monumental collection serves as the fourth and final volume in the landmark series compiling the non-fiction works of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, available in English for the first time. Bringing together his editorial columns and commentary written from 1989 up until the horrific October 1994 assassination attempt that nearly claimed his life, this anthology charts a highly turbulent phase of modern Egyptian history. Although Mahfouz had largely stepped away from writing long-form fiction during this period, his steady stream of socio-political journalism for the Al-Ahram newspaper continued unabated, offering invaluable moral counsel and reflection to his public.
Writing directly against a rising tide of religious extremism, sectarian violence, and political unrest within the Mubarak administration, Mahfouz responds to the shifting cultural climate with profound empathy, tolerance, and historical maturity. These remarkably prescient essays provide a clear, real-time map of his complex political beliefs—which often remained obscured or allegorical within his novels—solidifying his legacy as an unyielding champion of secular democracy, intellectual freedom, and humanistic hope. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
