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Author Yūsuf, Bāsim, 1974- author.

Title Revolution for dummies : laughing through the Arab Spring / Bassem Youssef.

Publication Info. New York, NY : Dey St., an imprint of William Morrow, [2017]
©2017

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Berlin-Peck Memorial Library - Biographies  92 BIOGRAPHY YOUSSEF    Check Shelf
 Rocky Hill, Cora J. Belden Library - Adult Department  791.4502 YOUSSEF    Check Shelf
Edition First edition.
Description xi, 284 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 24 cm
Summary Bassem Youssef recounts his life and offers hysterical riffs on the hypocrisy, instability, and corruption that has long animated Egyptian politics. From the attempted cover-up of the violent clashes in Tahrir Square to the government's announcement that it had created the world's first 'AIDS cure' machine, to the conviction of officials that Youssef was a CIA operative, recruited by Jon Stewart, to bring down the country through sarcasm. There's much more, and it's all insanely true.
"Bassem Youssef, a satirist who rose to fame in the middle of the Egyptian Revolution with his incendiary brand of comedy and his knack for unabashedly mocking dictators, has been called the "Jon Stewart of Egypt." Once a heart surgeon who filmed YouTube skits in the laundry room of his home, he eventually grew to become one of the most recognizable television hosts in Egyptian history, and his show became the most popular TV program in Egypt, much to the ire of the TV anchors, government officials, and military personnel who tried desperately to shut it down. So potent were Youssef's skits, jokes, and commentary that he was accused of insulting the Egyptian presidency, and even Islam itself, leading to a warrant in 2013 for his arrest. Despite turning himself in, Youssef was interrogated for six hours before being released on bail, which prompted his idol--Mr. Jon Stewart himself--to issue a statement on his behalf in an episode of The Daily Show. Though Youssef's case was eventually dismissed, his TV show was terminated, and he found himself fleeing Egypt in fear for his life. In Revolution for Dummies, Youssef proudly and hysterically riffs on the hypocrisy, instability, and corruption that manifested in Egyptian politics: everything from how the government tried to cover up the violent clashes in Tahrir Square to how the military announced they had created the world's first AIDS machine that could cure anyone of the disease to how officials were convinced Youssef was a CIA operative recruited by Jon Stewart, on a secret mission to bring down the country through sarcasm. (Yes, it gets that insane.) This is the version of the Arab Spring you've never heard, the one that doesn't get glossed over by the media's attempt to optimistically show promise of progress after revolution. This is the real story of guts and glory, and of how jokes are often mightier than the sword."--Jacket.
Contents part one. A heart surgeon breaking bad -- part two. Risky business -- part three. The clown, the traitor, the outcast.
Subject Yūsuf, Bāsim, 1974-
Television personalities -- Egypt -- Biography.
Comedians -- Egypt -- Biography.
Heart surgeons -- Egypt -- Biography.
Exiles -- Egypt -- Biography.
Egypt -- Biography.
Bernameg (Television program)
Arab Spring, 2010-
Egypt -- History -- Protests, 2011-2013
Egypt -- Politics and government -- 21st century.
Genre/Form Autobiographies.
ISBN 9780062446893 (hardcover)
0062446894 (hardcover)
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