Cairo in the War: 1939-45

Cairo In the War is a fascinating look behind the battle lines in the fight for North Africa. The city already an exotic cosmopolitan place with Greeks, Lebanese, Copts and Syrians is flooded with thousands of British charged with protecting the Suez Canal and the oil fields or the Middle East. They bring with them a ponderous but party loving military and civilian organization intent on maintaining British Culture and Class System. Polo and Tennis at the Gezira Sporting Club is followed by drinks at Shepheard's Hotel. The War goes badly due to passive command , low morale and awe of Rommel and the German army. In the background Egyptian Nationalism led by Nasser and Sadat threaten the defense, as many see the Germans as liberators. The British have to surround King Farouk's palace to force him to install a favorable government. The social scene is further excited by the arrival of artists writers and deposed royalty from the Balkans. When things are looking darkest the British turn to Montgomery who declares "no more retreats". This book is a great read and key to understanding the Mideast of today.

Provides the real background to novels, memoirs, other histories about the period, about Egypt during the War and specifically, course, Cairo.Looking back from a distance of 80 years it wasSometimes a bit hard to follow without maps of the city, of Egypt, of the Middle East as it was then. So this book requires a knowledgeable reader who then won’t be bored by it.

If you read Olivia Manning's Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy, combined as Fortunes of War, or if you saw the superb PPS production: Fortunes of War then CAIRO IN THE WAR 1939-1945 is for you. The author, Artemis Cooper does meticulous research and then writes her story with page turning enthusiasm. If you visited Cairo or have watched the Arab Spring unfold you owe it to yourself to know what Cairo was like before..a city of infinite charm whose story Cooper re-tells.If you have not read FORTUNES OF WAR don't delay order it and CAIRO IN THE WAR from Amazon. I envy you reading them for the first time. What hours of pleasure and discovery await!

This book gives a good overview of the military and political events, but its main strength is the anecdotes about sundry individuals and institutions.Especially all the (more or less) strange figures from British aristocracy and public school/Oxbridge educated poets, writers et all that managed to get a job in Cairo. Or employment rather, the amount of actual work seems to be less streneous than the lunches, dinners and parties.Of course, for those who find these people utterly irritating, uninteresting or unbearable, this is NOT the book for you.

A very interesting book about life in Cairo during WW II. The best sections deal with the nuances ogf Anglo-Egyption politics. To say the least, the Egyptians were conflicted about the outcome, and, in any case, wanted the British to leave sooner rather than later. There are interesting parts about the personalities involved, the social scene and details of the conflict in the Western Desert and elsewhere in the Mediterranean and Middle East.There could have been a little more said about espionage involving the Allies and the Axis, but this is a mere quibble.I still don't understand why used copies of this book are so expensive.

I could not put it down. Loved the details that really painted the picture of Cairo at war. You almost felt deflated when The German got pushed west.

In many ways, Cairo was the alternate capitol of the British Empire from June 10, 1940 (Italy entered the war on the side of the axis) and November 11, 1942 (the second battle of el-Alamein). Throughout the war Cairo had a role in the war in the Balkans, Greece, Crete, Iraq, Syria, Ethiopia, and saharan Africa. Among those en scene were Noel Coward, Bea Lillie, Lawrence Durrell, and Olivia Manning, Ms Cooper reports this well and in depth. Recommended.

Fascinating portrait of the last years of the monarchy and the British imperium, which acquires an urgency when Cairo was under threat from Rommel's Afrika Corps. For a brief time, Cairo was one of the most colorful cities in the world for fortunate expatriates

Well researched and interesting if the titles implies a comprehensive discourse on Cairo. It is much more about World War II with reference to Cairo. Considerable discussion of the war and its conduct and not nearly as minutely detailed about Cairo as I had expected. Still, a good read.

This book feels like an exhaustive society column, with too little substance, the war is far in the background, and the otherwise fascinating people it describes are glossed over barely skin deep using an impressive array of untranscendental anecdotes

Ayant vécu la guerre 39-45 au Caire j'ai eu grand plaisir à retrouver dans cet ouvrage tout et plus de ce que j'ai entendu et vu sansle comprendre car j'étais alors trop jeune! ce livre est un document exceptionnel,qui fourmille d'informations diverses et toujourspassionnantes. Ce n'est pas du tout un livre rébarbatif:il aborde tous les sujets avec souci de dire le vrai.J'ai eu le plaisir de me retrouver dans cette ville que j'ai beaucoup aimée:il est dommage qu'il n'existe pas ,à ma connaissance d'album de photos de cetteville, à cette époque!

It is gratifying that the publishers have at long last decided to reissue this little gem of historical writing.The astute account of the social and political impact of the war years on cosmopolitan Cairo is simply riveting.The wealth of anecdotes and the description of colourful protagonists read like an engrossing novel .While Rommel's Panzers are sweeping all resistance on their way to Alexandria, the life dramas during these critical years involving the fighters as well as the local onlookers are sympathetically recorded by a historian who is not only interested in political and military history but above all in individual destinies engulfed by the overwhelming events of war.With an eye for details she succeeds also in sketching a panoramic view of a colonial society, beset by ambivalent feelings towards the fluctuating British fortunes of war.Yet it was sheltered from the horrors of the actual fighting and the material privations endured by the populations in Europe.She contrasts the arrogance of imperial might personified by the British Ambassador Sir Miles Lampton high handed dealings with the wily attempts of the Egyptian King and the local political class to accomodate themselves to a situation they could neither control nor ignore.The political humiliations experienced at the time, did sow the seeds of a fierce nationalistic reaction which led to the fall of the Monarchy and the Suez crisis.There is always a tendency in such chronicles to give greater scope to the testimonies of the Diarists and Memoirists, at the expense of the voiceless ordinary people.The former by in large tend to be endowed with large egos or great sense of power, thus exercising considerable fascination for the reader and historian alike.Nevertheless her account finds space for the odd ordinary person be it the Barman at the Shepheard hotel , the witty Nubian servant or the stranded German hairdresser.Life in Egypt during the war has inspired some remarkable works of fiction. Beside Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet "and Olivia Manning's "the Levant Trilogy " there are works by Christopher Sykes, Robert Liddell and Leonard Mosley in addition to poems by Keith Douglas and Victor Selwyn.This sparkling historical account stands comparison with the best works of literature mentioned above.

Superb book. Artemis Cooper is a wonderful storyteller and historian. Contrary to many British novelists and historian (Lawrence Durrel, Morehead ..), Cooper has shown a deep understanding of this city during the war, from a British as well as Egyptian perspective. Her description of the impact of the 4 Feb 1942 incident on the Egyptian people is impressive.