The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom

by Sandra Mackey

Book Overview

Sandra Mackey lived in Saudi Arabia for four years, and as far as the authorities knew, she was simply the wife of an American doctor. But she saw things and traveled to places rarely viewed by any outsider, let alone a Western woman, and she succeeded in smuggling out a series of crucial articles on Saudi culture and politics. The Saudis offers a fascinating portrait of Saudi life, chronicling Mackey's extraordinary travels and experiences and depicting...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393324176
• ISBN13: 9780393324174
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 466 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Politics According to Islam

As others have noted, this book was written in the late 80's, early 90's and, given the pace of change in our society, it's not just dated but, in places, it's almost quaint. That said, this book needs to be required reading for any serious student of the Middle East, or anyone who's wondering how we got where we are - and what can we do about it? "The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom" is a foundational primer on Saudi Arabia and serves as an excellent introduction for all your future reading on the topic. Sandra writes, "Without doubt, the West's view of Saudi Arabia is distorted. ... Much of this anti-Westernism is born of frustration with American policy toward Israel and Europe's inability to win something concrete for the Palestinians." However, for the Saudi's, the frustration was much more personal. Much of the confusing relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States grew out of a dawning realization of the part of the House of Saud that they literally couldn't protect their desert kingdom militarily. For many years, Saudi defense plans were based on what was called, the "American Option." This was, primarily, having just enough troops to stall an attacker until American military might could swoop in to save the al Sauds, but not enough military to organize an effective coup and depose the royal family. Confidence in America's commitment to protecting its allies began to collapse with the events in Iran that lead to deposing of the Shah and the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini. While Carter dithered, Saudi Arabia sent increasingly more blatant signals to the US that surrender to a radical Islamic regime would be a disaster for Saudi Arabia and the entire region. The tone deaf Carter did nothing and the anti-western traditionalists in the royal family triumphantly seized on America's failure to even grant the Shah asylum as proof of western perfidy. Even the pro-western elements in the family had to be nervous at this betrayal of a long-time (if problematic) US ally. This disaster was followed by Soviet incursions in Ethiopia and Afghanistan, with only weak US opposition (boycotting the 1980 Olympic games, held in Moscow, was strongest response the Carter administration could muster.) "The al-Sauds as a result came to believe that by tying themselves too closely to the United States they were guaranteeing neither the throne nor their personal protection in case of political turmoil. Furthermore, the United States not only failed to move protect the Shah but had allowed a regime to come to power that was determined to destroy American presence in the gulf and to pull down the House of Saud. ... [F]or Saudi Arabia, the United States as the ultimate security guarantor in a grand strategic design was a concept that had failed." In 1986, Saudi Arabia got caught up in the Reagan administration ill-considered Iranian Arms imbroglio. "Every innuendo that linked Saudi Arabia to the affair added fuel to the widespread

"That woman" is an amazing writer with great knowledge

This is a fantastic book that gives you a great inside look into a country full of changes and hard to understand.Mrs Mackey really captures what happened in Saudi Arabia in the last years of the 1970's and the first years of the 80's regarding the oil boom in that country.She experienced first hand what the changes brought to the Saudis in their personal,cultural and religious life.This book not only helped me understand much better the Saudis and their economic impact in the oil business but also helped understand them as a people and as a culture.I believe that Mrs Mackey wrote a fascinating account that takes you deep in to arabian society.Her narrative is alive and her descriptions are sharp and capture the images and mood of the times.For me it was like i was walking thru the markets and bazaars with her at my side as a tour guide.Excellent book by an excellent author.

Great book!

I truly enjoyed this book. If you want to know about the history and the people of Saudi Arabia, then this book is for you. Sandra Mackey lived and worked in Saudi Arabia during its boom days, and wrote about her experiences in Saudi Arabia under different names to hide her identity from Saudi officials. In the early seventies, any foreigner caught writing about Saudi Arabia without the authorization of the Ministry of Communication was either imprisoned or swiftly deported from the country. Sandra Mackey had to remain undercover, and used many different names as author in the articles she sent abroad. She recounts how there were tense moments when she thought she had been identified by Saudi officials, and had to take her documents out in the desert to burn them. She also gave her articles to friends leaving the country to give them to her publishers. Those were the early days when email was still non-existent! This book will give you a pretty detailed look at life in Saudi Arabia as lived by the Saudis and as seen through the eyes of the expatriates living there. Many situations will seem bizarre to people not familiar with this country or its people. Sandra Mackey traces the history of Saudi Arabia back to its founder, King Abdul-Aziz. She describes how he united the different tribes together; how he then ruled over his kingdom; how he averted an uprising that almost overthrew him; how he controlled his people by the use of religion; and his strategy of keeping Saudi Arabia united and under his rule. His motto was to pay off his enemies to win them over. According to the author, this strategy is still carried out till this day. The author then describes the lives of the next kings, the children of Abdul-Aziz. Their lives is quite interesting, and not without intrigue. One king, Saud, was overthrown by his brother, Faisal, who took the thrown. King Saud was accused of being a playboy and a drunk. He was exiled by his brother, King Faisal. King Faisal was later murdered by his nephew. King Faisal was regarded as one of the best kings Saudi Arabia has had, and the people mourned his death. The author describes how and why King Faisal was murdered, and how the country was moving forward under his rule. She also describes the oil embargo that King Faisal imposed on the US for its role in the Israeli war. This is really a fascinating chapter. After King Faisal came King Khalid, his brother (the crown is past from brother to brother). King Khalid was also liked by his people for he was a virtuous, religious, and just man. He was also a great poet. He did not rule for long for he suffered from ill health. Like his brother king Faisal, he was not a king concerned with the luxuries of life. He spent most of his time in the desert with Bedouins living the simple life. After King Khalid came King Fahd. Fahd was a city man, spending almost no time with the Bedouins in the desert, and enjoyed the luxurious high life. He built palaces in almost every

Dated, but thorough and intelligent

Referring to the older version of the book: As a trained Political Scientist who worked in the area of economic planning part of the time she was in Saudi Arabia, the author does a very nice job of exploring the real crisis of inflexible Saudi traditionalism when first really confronted with the demands of modernity -- the weird mix of naivete, arrogance, and fear. We can see the reverberations still. She's actually a lot less biased and more even-handed than a lot of newer books, and it's extremely readable and entertaining as well as informative. She touches on more aspects of Saudi lifestyle in one book than all of the half-dozen other books I've read combined -- urban and rural development, health care, economics, religion, education, sexuality, social psychology, and domestic and foreign politics. She is best as a political scientist-sociologist, OK as an anthropologist, and weaker as a social psychologist -- but even there, not bad. This is a solid and fairly comprehensive foundation for understanding how modern Saudi Arabia came to be as it is, but it is not the place to stop.

Very Interesting Book!

This was a well written history of the country of Saudi Arabiaand the people who live there.You are able to get a concise history of the Royal family(Saud) and the Kings who have served in Saudi Arabia.One of the most interesting sections of the bookwas the formation of ARAMCO.This is a consortium of the four oil companies who developed the oil industry in Saudi Arabia.Anotherinteresting part of the book was President Roosevelt's visit tothe country during World War II.I also got a kick about thedescription of camel racing that takes place in Saudi Arabia.Thisis a very good book about Saudi Arabia. It is very readable andyou will enjoy it.