CAIRO: Confusion surrounded John R. Bradley’s new book “Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs On the Brink of a Revolution, with several reports claiming it was banned and others refuting it.
A July 23 Associated Press report quoting Bradley and his publisher said that “Inside Egypt had been banned for distribution in Egypt after the American University in Cairo’s Bookstore cancelled an order for 15 books.
After attracting the attention of local and international media, the Ministry of Information denied the book was banned. An unnamed ministry official told MENA, Egypt’s official news agency, that the minister gave the book the green light after it was submitted to him for a decision by a special committee that reviews all foreign books for distribution in Egypt.
“We are pleased to hear this latest news, and hope that booksellers originally told of a ban will now be ordering books, the book’s publisher, Palgrave Macmillan, said in a statement.
In an e-mail interview from London, Bradley told Daily News Egypt that there are two possible explanations for the conflicting reports.
“The first is that the bookstore is telling the truth, but the government official who forbade the bookstore from ordering it was not high-ranking but an ignoramus who personally objected to the book’s content. If this is indeed true, it reflects the chaotic nature of the regime as I describe it in ‘Inside Egypt,’ where there is no accountability or transparency – let alone respect for the rule of law and the values of free expression, Bradley said.
“The second possibility, the author continued, “is that the Ministry of Information statement is full of half-truths and fabrications, in keeping with its proven track record, and the government has backtracked on an original decision by the information minister to ban ‘Inside Egypt.’ The only reason could be that the ban backfired by propelling the book into the international headlines.
Officials at the AUC bookstore referred to a July 24 statement made by Mark Linz, director of AUC Press, to the Associated Press: “An order of 15 copies of ‘Inside Egypt’ was cancelled after the Bookstore was informed by the censor’s office that the book was not allowed to be imported and sold in Egypt.
On Tuesday, Linz told AP that the authorities have told him the book has been “released.
“I’m just happy that the book will finally be distributed to Egyptian bookstores next week, Bradley told Daily News Egypt, “and I look forward to signing copies at the AUC bookstore when I return to Cairo after the summer.
