Product Description
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 Saudi Arabia's strange metamorphosis from backward desert kingdom to world power. Mackey reveals the chaos of a country in transformation: grappling with modernity, coming to terms with its own wealth, and battling to maintain an influential stance in an altogether new world. This updated edition provides the essential background to the new Saudi crisis as the mother state of international terrorism.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 19 reviews)

Highly Recommend

This was a very good book. I was quite impressed. I definitely recommend as your next nonfiction read.
It's a longitudinal series of snapshots of the country before and after the acquisition of money, offering both a political and an anthropological view into another culture/society.
July 28, 2008

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 dissatisfaction within the Kingdom, for the revelations coming out of Washington tripped anti-Western emotions[.]"

As a consequence of the serial mismanagement of the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia (on both sides of the American political aisle), "[t]oday's Saudi is reaching not toward modernization but toward the security of Islam, the gateway to the past."

" ... [T]he great dividing line between the Saudis and the Westerners is religion. Islam for the Saudis is more than a theology, it is an entire way of life. Religion is the central force of their existence. Religion is life and life religion."

She writes respectfully about Islam and the Prophet (PBUH) who revealed it. She gets a few things wrong. In the quote above about "religion is life and life religion" Sandra acts as if this is something unique to Saudi Arabia and not the religious practices of every Muslim in the world. She also writes in various places about Muhammad (PBUH) founding a "new" religion (instead of a restoration of the authentic faith revealed to Adam, practiced by Ibrahim and all the prophets that followed - but that's another review for another time!).

Sandra suffers from none of the west's prejudices towards Islam. Insightfully she quotes "... a Western-educated, middle class Saudi, `The problem here is not Islam. The problem is too many young men with no job and no university and nowhere to go except to the mosque, where some [radical preachers] fill their heads with anger for America.'

"[t]he portrayal of internal politics in Saudi Arabia as a contest between Westernized moderates and puritanical Wahabbis is grossly oversimplified. [...] In truth, the modernizers and the traditionalists occupy parts of each other's realm. No matter how Westernized they regard themselves, the modernizers neither are able to not want to escape their own culture, for Islam weaves it's way into every aspect of Saudi culture, mandating that every Saudi is to some degree an Islamist. By the same token, Islamists have not escaped or totally rejected the forces of modernization. As an example, the most militant and influential Islamists now post their sermons calling for a return to the past on the Internet."

Sandra Mackey writes with obvious love for the Saudis, their culture and their country. As a western woman, she can't help but shake her head over what her western perspective considers injustice (the status of women) or just undesirable (a love of exaggerated flattery.) These flavor her accounts, even though she struggles, and for the most part succeeds, to remain impartial.
June 23, 2008

"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.
February 24, 2008

Irresponsible

I read this book while living in Saudi Arabia, across the street from where the author lived. I'm surprised the book is still in print, and I am even more surprised that anyone continues to be impressed by it. Those who have spent more time there than the author, and who have made the effort to learn about the culture and context of Saudi behavior, will perceive the errors in many of her interpretations.

January 25, 2008

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 city in Saudi Arabia, and many abroad. He spent lavishly, and under his rule, corruption flourished. He was also very unhealthy, and at one point was so fat that he had to be carried around in a wheel chair. The last few years of his life were spent in bed, and many said that he was unaware of his surroundings. King Fahd was not liked because of his lavish lifestyle and neglect of the well-being of his people.

The chapter on King Fahd is quite interesting. She describes the effect the Ayatollah Khomeini had on the ruling family, and how scared they became of religious fundamentalists.

The book ends before the death of King Fahd and before the events of September 11. Today, Saudi Arabia is ruled by King Abdullah, a man very much liked by his people.

The author also describes the economic and political turmoil of Saudi Arabia since its founding King. She recounts the Mecca uprising, were militants took over the holy Mosque at Mecca. She also talks about life in general in this kingdom, as well as how business is conducted. A few things might shock the readers. For example, it is common to have public executions, where anyone of any religion or nationality can attend a beheading. There are stories of maids being imprisoned in their employer's homes and used as sex slaves. Some European and American workers, with their passports in the custody of their employers as per the law of the country, were unable to leave the country because their employer had a quarrel with them.

The author also describes how lucky the Europeans and Americans who came to work in Saudi Arabia were. They were paid very high tax-free salaries, and were given paid holidays. Many used those paid holidays to travel around the world and to exotic places.

I liked the author's description of the desert, and how most expatriates missed out on its beauty (as well as a few who died, underestimating the heat and dryness).

This is really a great book about the history of Saudi Arabia and one that I really enjoyed reading. Keep in mind though that life in Saudi Arabia has changed since the publication of this book, and that under the just guidance of King Abdullah, the country is moving forward at a healthy pace.
November 08, 2007

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Saudi Arabia Exposed : Inside a Kingdom in Crisis, Updated Edition
by John R. Bradley

The Iranians: Persia, Islam and the Soul of a Nation
by Sandra Mackey, Scott Harrop

The Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein
by Sandra MacKey

The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power
by As`ad AbuKhalil, Asad Abukhalil

Princes of Darkness: The Saudi Assault on the West
by Laurent Murawiec
by George Holoch