The Battle For Saudi Arabia

In The Battle for Saudi Arabia- Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power , Professor As`ad AbuKhalil confronts the contradictory nature of Saudi Arabia-questions that both the Saudi government, long shrouded in mystery, and the United States government, ever protective of its own interests, seem unwilling to answer. In this unsparing probe into the history and power structure of the kingdom, Professor AbuKhalil, author of Bin Laden, Islam, and America's New "War on Terrorism", affords the reader unique insight into the intense friction that underlies the increasingly precarious balance between the Saudi royal family and the fundamentalist clerical establishment.

About the Author :
AS’AD ABUKHALIL was born in Tyre, Lebanon. He received his B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from the American University of Beirut, and his Ph.D. in Comparative Politics from Georgetown University. AbuKhalil has taught at Georgetown, George Washington University, Tufts University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. His articles on Middle East politics and society have appeared in English, German, Spanish, and Arabic. He is professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus, and a visiting professor at UC, Berkeley.

Review :
“Based on often ignored Saudi sources, this important book reveals much about one of the most important countries in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and its long and involved relationship with the United States. For anyone who wishes to understand the background of perhaps the most extreme ideology in the Middle East, this book is a must.” –Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies, Middle East Institute, Columbia University “Asad Abu Khalil takes aim at friends and foes of the Kingdom alike in Saudi Arabia and the United States. Read and argue with his sharp, often provocative judgments, and, as you do so, appreciate Asad's attempt to go beyond the easy outrage that colors much of the post-9/11 writing on Saudi society and American foreign policy.” –Robert Vitalis, Director of the University of Pennsylvania's Middle East Center and author of Americas Kingdom: Saudi Arabia and the World Oil Frontier, 1945-1970