In Revolution for Dummies, Bassem Youssef—the “Jon Stewart of Egypt” and creator of Albernameg, the most popular television show in Egypt’s history—chronicles his transformation from heart surgeon to political satirist, and offers crucial insight into the Arab Spring, the Egyptian Revolution, and the turmoil roiling the modern Middle East.

With his incendiary satire and knack for unabashedly mocking dictators, Youssef rose to fame in the middle of the Egyptian Revolution. Eventually accused of insulting the Egyptian presidency, and even Islam itself, he was arrested in 2013. Though his case was eventually dismissed, Youssef’s show was terminated, and he fled to the United States in fear for his life.

Youssef proudly and hysterically riffs on the hypocrisy, instability, and corruption manifest 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. This is the real story—a tale of guts and glory, and of how jokes are often mightier than the sword.