This book adds a new dimension to the ongoing discussions of Egypt’s nationalist response to colonialism—and to discussions of colonialism and nationalism more generally. Dr. Powell demonstrates cogently how central the issue of the Sudan was to Egyptian nationalism right from the beginning—an aspect of the situation to which historians have given far too little attention. That colonized Egypt was itself a colonizer is a fact whose pervasive, complex role in the Egyptian response to the British presence has not been adequately appreciated. This study also enriches our understanding of 19th and 20th-century Egyptian attitudes toward slavery and toward race, showing how Egyptians really thought about these matters below the level of policy and administration. The findings in this area are particularly illuminating and important; although they will certainly be controversial in some quarters, they are firmly grounded in contemporary materials that are vivid, eloquent, and fascinating. As a contribution to social history, with important implications for political history as well, this book is most impressive.
—Everett K.Rowson, Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Pennsylvania