A History of Saudi Arabia - Tapa dura

'Madawi al-Rasheed's critical reinterpretation of Saudi Arabian history is not only timely, it is provocative. It is informed by both excellent scholarship and a familiarity with the subject that comes from knowing it from the inside. Both sympathizers with and critics of the country will find their stereotypes of the Saudi reality challenged.' F. Gregory Gause, III, University of Vermont

'Madawi Al-Rasheed's book, just hot from the printing press, is most welcome because it contributes to the fulfilment of the critical need for scholarly works on Saudi Arabia. ... This book is eminently readable, well researched and, in important parts, original. Al-Rasheed's points are argued cogently and her interpretation of Saudi history, which challenges conventional wisdom with new perspectives, will keep the reader's mind continually alive.' The Journal of Energy Literature

'... this is a lucid and accessible introduction to, and interpretation of, Saudi Arabia's political history.' International Affairs

'This is a rich and rewarding study which will be invaluable to academic specialists, students, journalists, policy makers, and to all those trying to understand the enigma of Saudi Arabia.' Archiv Orientální

'Madawi Al-Rasheed's History of Saudi Arabia is a refreshingly iconoclastic book ... As far as I know, the 'true story' has, not been previously told in quite such critical and well-footnoted detail.' Peter Sluglett, American Historical Review

'... subtle and complex ... This is one of the most refreshing, well-researched and clearly-written books to appear on Saudi Arabia in recent times ... nowhere have I read a more analytic and innovative treatment of the making of the Saudi state. Librarians, please take note: this book is essential to well-stocked libraries everywhere in the world.' Bulletin for the Royal Institute of Inter-Faith Studies

'Al-Rasheed's book appears at an apposite time when Western interest in Saudi Arabia has never been greater.' Asian Affairs

Saudi Arabia is a wealthy and powerful country which wields influence in the West and across the Islamic world. Yet it remains a closed society. Its history in the twentieth century is dominated by the story of state formation. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Ibn Sa'ud fought a long campaign to bring together a disparate people from across the Arabian peninsula. In 1932 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was born. Madawi al-Rasheed traces its extraordinary history from the age of emirates in the nineteenth century, through the 1990 Gulf War, to the present day. She fuses chronology with analysis, personal experience with oral histories, and draws on local and foreign documents to illuminate the social and cultural life of the Saudis. This is a rich and rewarding book which will be invaluable to students, and to all those trying to understand the enigma of Saudi Arabia.