In this creatively researched, innovatively argued book, Kyle Anderson makes a signal contribution to the histories of the First World War, colonialism, race, and the development of modern nationalism. In the best tradition of the “global turn” in contemporary First World War studies, The Egyptian Labor Corps compels a truly worldwide perspective and forces a reckoning with the complexities of diverse lived experiences, while situating these experiences in the broadest contexts of some of the most important events in twentieth-century Egypt, the Middle East, Europe, and the world. Readers will come away from this groundbreaking study with a firm conviction that race, space, and place are as integral to understanding this period as soldiers, battles, and war.
— Richard S. Fogarty, author of Race and War in France: Colonial Subjects in the French Army, 1914-1918
The Egyptian Labor Corps is a deeply researched, carefully crafted, riveting history of the forgotten role of a vast army of Egyptian workers in the victorious campaigns of the Allied Powers in the First World War. Kyle Anderson upends what we thought we knew about the war, Egypt’s 1919 revolution, nationalism, and the lived experience of racism in a key part of Great Britain’s Middle Eastern empire.
— Robert Vitalis, author of Oilcraft: The Myths of Scarcity and Security that Haunt U.S. Energy Policy
[Anderson uncovers] intriguing details about the Egyptian Labor Corps and its influence on the 1919 revolution. Far from being minor historical actors, Anderson understands the men of the ELC as central to the events that wrested Egyptian independence from Britain....well worth a read, especially for those interested in the legacies of empire in the Middle East.
— Middle East Research and Information Project
[The Egyptian Labor Corps] makes creative and thorough use of a wide range of available source materials to produce a compelling vignette of a critical and largely forgotten moment in Egyptian and colonial history. It makes a solid contribution to the literature on race and racialization in Egypt, with much more wide ranging implications for British imperial history. It also offers intriguing depth to the later complexities of Egyptian nationalism’s place within pan-Arabism and pan-Africanism.
— Marc Lynch, Middle East and Northern Africa Academy
This is an attractive, informative and well-researched account...Anderson has successfully provided an innovative interpretation of a critical period when Egyptians were seeking to imagine a post-Ottoman and postcolonial future for their country that sheds important light on the nature and legacy of British imperial practices and recognises a range of inspirations that informed Egyptian national visions.
— Contemporary Levant
Anderson offers a multifaceted history of the half a million Egyptian logistical laborers involved in the Allied war effort during World War I...The Egyptian Labor Corps is a timely example of the productive avenues that open when race and racialized experience are incorporated into once-familiar narratives. Anderson displays a sensitivity to the source material and generosity toward his subjects. Accessible writing and short thematic chapters make this recommended reading for an informed general audience and academic readers alike.
— International Journal of Middle East Studies
For scholars with an interest in World War I, labor history, or the multifaceted impacts of colonialism and war, The Egyptian Labor Corps comes highly recommended. Its rich portrayal of the laborers’ experiences will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on readers, furthering our understanding of the often-unseen actors who played vital roles during this significant historical period.
— History: Reviews of New Books