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.
Contents:
Introduction; 1. Society and politics (1744-1818 and 1824-91); 2. The emerging state (1902-1918); 3. Control and loyalty; 4. The politics of dissent (1953-73); 5. From affluence to austerity (1973-90); 6. The Gulf War and its aftermath (1990-2000); 7. Narratives of the state, narratives of the people; Conclusions.