Synopses & Reviews
Saudi Arabia: land of oil, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, and a crucial American ally. John R. Bradley uniquely exposes the turmoil that is shaking the House of Saud to its foundations, including the problems within the new leadership. From the heart of the secretive Islamic kingdom's urban centers to its most remote mountainous terrain, he provides intimate details and reveals regional, religious, and tribal rivalries.
Bradley highlights tensions generated by social change, the increasing restlessness of Saudi youth with limited cultural and political outlets, and the predicament of Saudi women seeking opportunities but facing constraints.
What are the implications for the Sauds and the West? This book offers a startling look at the present predicament and a troubling view of the future.
Review
"A highly informed, temperate, and understanding account of a country that. . . is an enigma."--
The New York Times"Contribute[s] substantially to the debate"--Los Angeles Times
"[A] thoughtful, incisive portrait of a fractured nation....a remarkable volume"--Newsweek International
"[Bradley] uses a graceful journalist's pen to write with scholarly authority...shows a sensitivity rare for a Westerner, reaching directly to the society's core."--The Nation
About the Author
John R. Bradley worked as a journalist in Saudi Arabia for more than two
years. He was educated at University College London, Dartmouth College, and
Exeter College, Oxford. An Arabic speaker, he has written for The New
Republic, The Economist, the Washington Times, Salon, the Independent, the
London Telegraph, the London Sunday Times, Prospect, and the Times Literary
Supplement, and has been interviewed by CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS.
Table of Contents
Liberal Voices of the Hijaz * The Death of the Majlis * Flower Men, Tribal Sheiks * Shia Fear * Expatriate Life (and Death) * Urban Crime Wave * The Segregation of the Sexes * Whos's Censoring Whom? * Ticking Time Bombs: Youth