Al-Ahram Weekly | Cairo Book Fair

Hundreds thronged to welkome Adel Imam, dozens wanted Kurtzer out; the education ministers got more than they bargained for and upbeat officials talked of big plans, Al-Ahram Weekly samples a week at the fair.

Future stakes At another seminar, speakers and audience spoke about Egypt's agricultural growth and prosperity and how they promise a bright future for this nation's young men and women. Maye Ostowani attended	No boring questions, please Superstar Adel Imam was his usual self at his annual Book Fair appearance this year. Tarek Atia sits back and enjoys the show
Debate inside, demonstrations outside While Daniel Kurtzer was trying to persuade Egyptian intellectuals to alter their "misconceptions" of American policy at a closed seminar, a few hundred demonstrators gathered outside demanding that the US ambassador be kicked out. Nadia Abou Al-Magd reports	Upbeat about tourism At the Book Fair, the minister of tourism said Egypt had succeeded in regaining tourists lost following the 1997 Luxor massacre and is preparing for more in the new millennium. Rehab Saad reports
Education ministers under fire The seminars on education and scientific research may have been livelier than what their respective ministers would have hoped for. Mariz Tadros watched the tempers get hot	Easy solutions for Cairo? At yet another seminar, the governor of Cairo unveiled a programme that aims to prepare Cairo for the 21st century. Mona El-Nahhas was there

The culture staff of Al-Ahram Weekly offer a skeleton guide to some of the recent titles showcased at this year's fair

Inside the archives
Al-Oroush wa Al-Jeyoush (Thrones and Armies) by Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Dar Al-Shourouk, Cairo, pp458

Tied by water
Sereer Al-Ghariba (A Strange Woman's Bed) by Mahmoud Darwish, Riad Al-Rayyes, Beirut, 1999, pp150

The state of the domain
Qawa'id Al-Fann (The Rules of Art) by Pierre Bourdieu, translated by Ibrahim Fathi, Dar Al-Fikr, Cairo, 1998, pp447

Literature and literalism
Encyclopaedia of the Jews, Judaism, and Zionism (8 volumes) by Abdel-Wahab El-Messiri, Dar Al-Shourouk, Cairo, 1999, LE750

Talking with clouds
Al-Ahzan Al-Adia (Ordinary Sorrows) by Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudi, Dar Qibaa', Cairo, 1999, pp180

A transient condition
Enfegar Gomgoma (The Explosion of a Skull) by Idris Ali, Al-Magless Al-A'la Lel Thaqafa, Cairo, pp262

Professor Vérité
Essays in Honour of Louis Morcos, Edited by Mary Massoud, Ain Shams University Press, Cairo, 1998, pp487

The context of a master
Al-Bahth 'an Al-Yaqin Al-Morawigh: Qira'a fi Qissas Youssef Idris (The Search for Elusive Certainty: A Reading of Youssef Idris's Stories) by Farouq Abdel-Qader, Dar Al-Hilal, Cairo,1998, pp208

Jane Eyre and the Caliph
On the fringes of the Fair, Pascale Ghazaleh enters another dimension