Through those conversations, the book touches on everything from politics to the education system to traffic to societal ills. The tone of the book is ultra-colloquial. Literally, it was originally written in colloquial Egyptian Arabic which is kind of a big deal for a published book. The English translation (by Jonathan Wright, and my hat is off to him) is very good and even though you can tell it's a translation, its tone captures the casual and immediate nature of its subject matter.
On Goodreads, I gave the book four stars for myself, but noted that its worth to readers at large is definitely five stars. I had to hold back from giving it that final, amazing star because the book was so accurate that it reminded me against my will of all the things that annoyed me the most about riding in taxis. The wild conspiracy theories. The political rants. The pathetically fake sob stories. The interminable traffic. The Koranic recitations turned up full blast on the radio. The smoking. If I had never experienced all this first-hand - or if I knew I would never have to experience it again - maybe I could have really embraced this book with a five-star rating.
But Taxi is now the first book I will recommend to someone who wants a basic introduction to the Middle East. It is informative, accessible, and absolutely engaging. (The Arabists, From the Holy Mountain, From Beirut to Jerusalem, Eastward to Tatary, Blood and Sand - those can (and should) come later.)