The fall of Hosni Mubarak's regime in Egypt amid mass unrest in early 2011 allowed observers to look back on Mubarak's role as the commander of the Egyptian Air Force (EGAF) during the October 1973 Mideast War—a role that constituted one pillar of Mubarak's legitimacy during his 30-year rule. Most notable is the republication of the memoir of Lieutenant-General Saad Shazly, former chief of staff of the Egyptian armed forces (1971–1973), which challenges the accepted Egyptian historiography, particularly its emphasis on the role of the EGAF strike at the war's outset, the adverse role of the Soviet Union as Egypt's main arms supplier at the time, and the marginality of the Israeli penetration west of the Suez Canal in the war's final stage.
However, anyone hoping that Mubarak's own firsthand account would engage with Shazly's memoir, would offer explosive revelations about these three significant issues, or would discuss the decision-making...