Saudi Arabia

Drawing on personal experiences, hundreds of interviews, and unpublished primary sources, veteran journalists Peter Wilson and Douglas Graham examine the challenges confronting the House of Saud in the wake of the war in the Persian Gulf. Among the provocative topics discussed are: Saudi Arabia's growing indebtedness, and the government's inability to balance its budget; the reasons why the kingdom's armed forces were unable to defend the country despite hundreds of billions of dollars in arms spending; the country's worsening unemployment problem; the growing strength of Saudi Arabia's fundamentalists, who possibly could topple the regime. Saudi Arabia is essential reading for scholars and students of the Middle East, Islamic culture, and international affairs.