Broken Spring

Book excerpt: In Broken Spring, veteran Middle East correspondent Mark Lavie provides a vivid, in-depth, hands-on view of Egypt's society and the turmoil it is undergoing. He examines its people, its politics and its Islamic orientation, and explains how and why the West gets so many things wrong in the Middle East. Lavie walks readers through everyday life in Egypt, meeting people and sharing their moods and hardships. He explains why democracy doesn't work in Egypt, why the economy is in shambles - and what it would take to fix it. From his post in Cairo, Lavie evaluates similar and parallel developments all over the region, and Western responses. Building on decades of reporting in Israel and the Palestinian areas, he assesses Israel's role in Arab Spring and its own perception of the events. He watches as the once proud and prominent Egyptian Jewish community withers and dies, literally, with the passing of its leader.