Cairo: The Practical Guide 2002

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable Resource if You're Moving to Egypt
Review: I was offered a job in Egypt in 2000 and purchased the 2000 version of "Cairo: The Practical Guide." It was, as the title said, full of practical information about living in Cairo. It was a great resource as I prepared to relocate and I referred back to it many times over my two years there. It had everything from the skinny on the different parts of town to how to deal with tipping and lots in between. This book has the sort of stuff about everyday life that you won't find in tourist guide books. The accompanying book of maps (sold separately) was also very useful.

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable Resource if You're Moving to Egypt
Review: I was offered a job in Egypt in 2000 and purchased the 2000 version of "Cairo: The Practical Guide." It was, as the title said, full of practical information about living in Cairo. It was a great resource as I prepared to relocate and I referred back to it many times over my two years there. It had everything from the skinny on the different parts of town to how to deal with tipping and lots in between. This book has the sort of stuff about everyday life that you won't find in tourist guide books. The accompanying book of maps (sold separately) was also very useful.

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable Resource if You're Moving to Egypt
Review: I was offered a job in Egypt in 2000 and purchased the 2000 version of "Cairo: The Practical Guide." It was, as the title said, full of practical information about living in Cairo. It was a great resource as I prepared to relocate and I referred back to it many times over my two years there. It had everything from the skinny on the different parts of town to how to deal with tipping and lots in between. This book has the sort of stuff about everyday life that you won't find in tourist guide books. The accompanying book of maps (sold separately) was also very useful.

Rating:
Summary: This revision is awful
Review: The previous edition of this book, edited by Cassandra Vivian was far superior to this one. This edition is written for a single audience-wealthy married with children embassy types-and ignores the wide variety of other foreigners who wind up in Cairo. It is highly idiosyncratic in its views and leaves out whole areas of information that were covered in the previous edition. My old edition fell apart and I threw it away thinking the new edition would replace it, and now I am kicking myself for doing so.

Rating:
Summary: Moving to Cairo? This is a must-read
Review: This book is not your average "here's-how-to-get-to-pyramids" guide book to Egypt, nor is it intended to be. This is a book specifically for individuals and families moving to Cairo for an extended period who have not spent time in Middle Eastern, African or other second-tier countries whose citizenry has a different "walterschaaung" or worldview. Listing this guidebook in the travel guide section is wide of the mark; this is a survival guide for ex-patriots to one of the most historic and culturally unsual (from a Western perspective) place on the planet. Thousands of survival tips are given, such as which kinds of cheeses to select, where to find and what to pay a housekeeper, where to find fresh meat, which mall has a Baskins-Robbins, which neighborhood would best suit the new arrival, and a pretty good chapter on survival Arabic. The writing style, like this guide, is not sugar-coated but directly sparse, defoliated and easy to read and remember. I would pack this book along with several other guidebooks if you are planning an extended (more than a few days) stay in Cairo. While world-romping tourists could probably live without this guide, the expat would find it indispensible. Chances are, though, a new guide book edition (the 10th) is already headed toward the American University in Cairo Press.

Rating:
Summary: Moving to Cairo? This is a must-read
Review: This book is not your average "here's-how-to-get-to-pyramids" guide book to Egypt, nor is it intended to be. This is a book specifically for individuals and families moving to Cairo for an extended period who have not spent time in Middle Eastern, African or other second-tier countries whose citizenry has a different "walterschaaung" or worldview. Listing this guidebook in the travel guide section is wide of the mark; this is a survival guide for ex-patriots to one of the most historic and culturally unsual (from a Western perspective) place on the planet. Thousands of survival tips are given, such as which kinds of cheeses to select, where to find and what to pay a housekeeper, where to find fresh meat, which mall has a Baskins-Robbins, which neighborhood would best suit the new arrival, and a pretty good chapter on survival Arabic. The writing style, like this guide, is not sugar-coated but directly sparse, defoliated and easy to read and remember. I would pack this book along with several other guidebooks if you are planning an extended (more than a few days) stay in Cairo. While world-romping tourists could probably live without this guide, the expat would find it indispensible. Chances are, though, a new guide book edition (the 10th) is already headed toward the American University in Cairo Press.