EGYPTIAN MADE by Leslie T. Chang is an intriguing look at "Women, Work, and the Promise of Liberation." Chang, an award-winning author, contrasts the stories of female factory workers in Egypt with those of the women she interviewed in China for her previous text, Factory Girls. The patterns that appeared as a result of cultural differences (e.g., roughly one-third of women are illiterate and it is estimated that less than one fourth of women in Egypt work outside the home) were eye-opening. Chang argues that globalization has actually had a negative impact on women working in Egypt where pressures from families and husbands in an increasingly conservative society are limiting opportunities for women. She profiles three women in depth (Rania, a new factory supervisor working to escape an unhappy marriage; Doaa, who wants to become a social worker after her divorce; and Riham who wants to run her own clothing factory). Chang is living in Colorado now and I sincerely hope she is working on her next study. Library Journal compared this book to Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed which was a part of the high school curriculum for years. Readers may want to pair the very informative EGYPTIAN MADE with Getting Me Cheap or other recent texts on workers’ rights or with any of several books about global forces and the Middle East specifically.

Fascinating Examination Of Modern Egyptian Work And Culture. As an American who has only briefly left the US, and never left the Caribbean region when leaving the US, it was fascinating to read such a detailed account of modern Egyptian work and culture as seen through the eyes of an American who lived there for a few years and who actively examined what she saw while there. From a sheer cultural studies perspective, this work was interesting indeed. As an examination of women's place in society in Egypt, it was also fascinating in several different aspects - while there is *some* similarity to *some* minority groups in the US, this was largely a very different concept than how America operates, both in actuality and in vision. Even the work culture of the males shown within is so *vastly* different than American business and work culture, and Chang shows how this is largely the result of Socialist / Nationalist policies from generations ago that became so deeply embedded within the culture at large that no effort to reign them back in has been very successful.

The singular glaring weakness here is the absolute lack of any bibliography at all, at least in the Advance Review Copy edition I read. Indeed, it must be noted, that while I am accustomed to ARCs being "not in final form"... this was also one of the most incomplete ARCs I've ever been given access to. There were quite often threads that would end in "to investigate later" or some such, or "place chart here" or similar, among other issues of this type. Not enough to truly detract from the overall narrative, and certainly not anything to deduct a star over - I know the score with ARCs. But this being truly the most incomplete such book I've ever encountered needed to be noted, as it *did* impact my overall experience with the text.

Overall, this was truly a fascinating examination of a culture I've never experienced and likely *will* never experience, and I trust that the fully released version won't have the incompleteness of what I was given, negating the only criticism I had here. Very much recommended.

In Egyptian Made by Leslie T. Chang it’s a book I couldn’t wait to get into. Having heard some really great things historically about Egypt in the rights of women I couldn’t wait to see what turned it all around. Unfortunately I learned freedom for women in Egypt is a yo-yo, there was even a man in history who only wanted women to leave the home when going to their marital house their mothers funeral in their own death. There was another who wanted women to walk close to the buildings so they could leave the middle of the road for the men. Throughout this book the main narrative was a story about women some who didn’t know the strength they had, some who knew but they didn’t have the emotional security to fight for it and others who did and achieved what they set out to do. There were many women that were getting ahead at the sewing jobs they had only to quit upon their marriage others wouldn’t show up because there was a holiday in the family and other menial reasons because some men really believe women only work for fun. The book even talks about divorce and how unbalanced it is between women and men we also got to see the Waze Egyptian women pick a husband and although this wasn’t greatly expand their own I found what they did say interesting it was astounded that women were treated even worse than second class citizens and all this from one of the first countries to have a medical school for women but with many different leaders came many different beliefs but for the most part women had a pretty good until the British government poked their nose in an as they say the rest is history. Between Muslims interpreting the Quran tobenefit them in the British patriarchy women didn’t have a chance in Egypt after making such strides this is such a good book I can’t wait to read more by Leslie T Chang especially her books covering China in the factory workers there for an American I find her very knowledgeable and loved her writing style and really enjoyed this book. I want to thank random house and Net Galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This book provides insight into the environment within which Egyptian women are challenged to operate not only in the business world but also in their personal lives. The author follows the lives of three women who try to succeed working in garment factories as well as features some of the other women working in those factories. The three women have to contend with Egypt’s culture, opposition of family members including husbands, economic policies, and the overall system as they struggle to be successful. The complete blurring of lines between work and home for the working women and the challenges the industry faces in recruiting women workers were enlightening. I liked how the personalities of the women came through in the book - I felt I got to know them, each a distinct individual. The author did a nice job with context and perspective as well. (I had just finished listening to an audiobook about the Greater Middle East, which also helped provide additional insight into Egypt as I read this book.) Overall, I thought this book was a good read and definitely recommend it. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Chang, already known for her superb work on China's women factory workers, turns her keen senses here to the women and girls of Upper Egypt, following them into factories and back out again, watching some rise and fall, and digging into the family politics of women working outside of the home, all amid the context of Egypt's history and how its dictatorships and leaders have changed the course of its economic prowess. The book is fascinating. Chang moves quickly from one story to the next, bringing in analysis, observations, and explanations of how Egyptian culture works in this part of the country. For anyone interested in women's labor history or current conditions, it's a must-read, and an enlightening one for general audiences.

This is an excellent ethnography of the world of female textile workers in Egypt. We read the stories of many individual women, particularly one who started her own successful factory. She is quite the hero, and a true social innovator, working hard to train young women and give them a career path for independence.

The book includes useful background information on women in Islam, changes in Egyptian culture in the time of Nasser, and how everything changed with Arab Spring (mostly for the worst, for women). The author has a compassionate outlook, although she cannot hide a Western feminist bias. (She is a Chinese American who previously did a similar study in China.)

If you know much about women’s daily life in the Arab world, this book won’t come as much of a surprise. However, it is a careful and interesting study of a particular slice of Egyptian society, and well worth reading.

There are times while reading Leslie T. Chang's "Egyptian Made: Women, Work, and the Promise of Liberation" that I had to remind myself that this is a work of nonfiction. So vivid is Chang's storytelling that there are times, rather frequently, when it feels like you've been plopped down in the middle of a thrilling, and at times rather sad, historical novel.

"Egyptian Made" is, rather obviously, set in Egypt. It's a country struggling to reconcile a traditional culture with the demands of globalization. Chang immerses herself within this world, at times openly and honestly astonished by its repression amidst shiny and mostly shallow promises of women's liberation.

Chang is an unapologetic journalist and this radiates throughout "Egyptian Made" in terms of reporting, approach, and her often quite blunt editorializing of her experiences halfway across the world while amidst women who confidently and defiantly live conflicted lives between work and cultural expectations.

"Egyptian Made" focuses its literary lens on three particular women living factory lives in the textile industry. Chang didn't simply visit these women, though at times "Egyptian Made" makes it feel this way, but she spent over two years of immersion in this society following these women at work and at home and as much as these women and their families would allow.

For the record, that's not always a lot. Chang explores the impact of everything from profound changes in national economic policy to a largely Muslim culture's marriage and family expectations to a weakened and failing educational system.

At first, it appears that "Egyptian Made" is primarily about the world of work. However, Chang casts the net much wider.

Riham is an up-and-coming businesswoman who attempts to balance her entrepreneurial spirit with a desire to nurture women toward success. It's an approach that doesn't always work as she struggles to attract workers to her garment factory while building a successful enterprise in the global marketplace.

Rania, often the most compelling figure here, initially works on an assembly line but ambitiously works toward a management position. She is confident, though not always appropriately nor realistically so and held back by peer conflicts and an unhappy marriage.

Finally, there's Doaa, a colleague of Chang's, who often appears to have the most promise of success but is weighted by sacrificing access to her own children to get a divorce all while still pursuing an education - it's a frequent tale here in the U.S., but comes with heavy baggage in the Egyptian culture.

Along the way, Chang shares her own journey of living in Egypt for five years with her own family and her own observations, often quite blunt yet astute, while also sharing the framework from which all of this grows.

While much of the world romanticizes Egypt with its pharaohs, pyramids, camels, and Nile River, Chang commits her journey toward a more realistic portrayal that still shows respect for the nation. "Egyptian Made" is, at times, so vivid in its portrayal that it feels like we're joining Chang on the journey and astonished by her experiences. Chang's journalistic integrity is exacting, at times even jarring, as she is uncompromising and precise in her truth-telling. The book's final chapter, in particular, winds down this narrative with remarkable insight after remarkable insight and paints portrayals we won't soon forget.

This story broke my heart. I remember being in Egypt and it brought me back and I couldn't stop reading it. It made me cry. These women are so courageous and brave. A very good read to understand and ponder.

Leslie Chang's "Egyptian Made" is about the challenges in Egyptian society with creating a culture and class of women who are emotionally and financially independent. Chang follows several women, from seamstresses to factory owners, as they attempt to navigate a society whose increasingly conservative culture treats women as subordinates, even if they are a household's breadwinner. Chang shows that Egypt has not moved beyond the age of arranged and obligation-based marriages. Women spend their lives, and all of their money, gathering goods in preparation for marriage in which traditional societal beliefs see no ends in how much women must sacrifice to meet all of their husbands' needs. This is the book I never knew I was waiting for since reading "Factory Girls," one of Chang's previous releases. I loved the comparisons between the women in Chinese and Egyptian culture. This book is also a great compliment to Peter Hessler's "The Buried." I highly recommend this book!