Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis

"An Arabic-speaking Westerner who seized a rare opportunity to travel freely throughout Saudi Arabia, Bradley offers a dense, abstract study that reads more like the 'culture and history' section of a guidebook than a juicy, insider account. But Bradley did get access to high-profile Saudis, most memorably to Osama bin Laden's nephew, with whom Bradley went on a picnic. An accomplished journalist and scholar who prefers facts to sensory-let alone salacious-details, Bradley successfully compiles research, information, geographical data and flat-footed descriptions of observed events to explain the political dynamics and historical roots of a strong authoritarian state, characterized particularly by the close relation between the Al-Saud ruling family and the conservative Wahhabis. He conveys a sense of a country fraught with fear, hostility and suspicion while remaining aloof from much of the drama he describes. Bradley is at his best when he writes about the press, providing what is truly an insider's look and untangling some of the knotted ties between the media, the Saudi government and the United States. " Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"The geopolitics of oil is beyond the author's scope, but for readers interested in the social forces at work in the country, including terrorism, Bradley provides perceptive access to current trends." Booklist

"A highly informed, temperate and understanding account of a country that...is an enigma to other Arabs, and...Saudis themselves." New York Times

"Recommended as popular background reading on a country much in the news." Library Journal

"Introduces us to a complex world, exposing contradictions and anomalies that allow us to see the Saudis in three dimensions." Michael Scott Doran, assistant professor in the Near East Dept. at Princeton University; Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations

A journalist's revealing look inside the mysterious Saudi kingdom.

John R. Bradley has reported extensively from Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East for The New Republic, Salon, The Washington Times, The Independent and The London Daily Telegraph. He has commentated on related issues for CNN, CBS, the BBC and NPR.