[.ca] The History of Saudi Arabia (ISBN 0814788092)

the defintive history of saudi arabia:
This is the most complete and accurate history of saudi arabia to date. It is a slow read, but a must for the serious student of this oil-rich kingdom.

an excellent overview:
The biggest fault in the book is the absence of maps and pictures. It is annoying to have to open an atlas in order to follow a campaign that is otherwise described in such detail. The section on the last decade and the conclusion are generally anemic and provide no great insights into what the future may hold. But if you want to gain some idea of how Saudi Arabia came to be, what tremendous obstacles were overcome (or what great opportunities were lost, depending on your point of view) this is the book to own.

Saudi Arabia as you never read it:
That's for the moment the best available book on Saudi Arabia. Exceptionally documented, it stages the history of the most mysterious country of the Middle East from the beginning of the eighteenth century until 1998, coping with the socio-economical backgroung of that ideology which is named "wahhabism". It reverses the usual order of analyse, deniyng "islam" to be the only cause of the current shape of Saudi Arabia. A great work.

If you Can Buy Only One Book About Arabia, This is It:
P.A. Seslavin and Jana Gough did a superb job of translation.The English syntax is impeccable But the pricipal value of the book is its completeness: A masterly review of the literature, in my opinion more thorough than any previously compiled, supplemented by a bibliography and keyed reference notes is followed by an excellent summation of early Saudi history and the governance of the restorer of Saudi hegemony, Abdul Aziz ibn Abdur Rahman ibn Faisal al Saud,(the main object of my own study) and his sons. The great changes in the mores of the tribes in the decades following the discovery and development of the oil resources of Saudi Arabia is covered only piecemeal by other authors, but summarized very well here and the threats to the existence of the current regime are discussed in some detail. The reasons for Saudi dependence on US support are given, but there could not be a discussion the post 1998 revelations concerning radical clerics and their support of terrorism. Only one minor error regarding the number and leadership of the two forces sent to Asir in 1921-22 came to light in my first reading of this monumental book.

Daniel Pipes has it wrong:
Daniel Pipes says, ". . .he paints a picture of Saudi Arabia from its founder Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. . ." Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of "Wahhabism," lived in the 1700's. Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, the real founder of Saudi Arabia, died in the 20th century. I will never read or buy a book written by someone who could make such a silly mistake, nor will I ever take one of their reviews seriously.