Download Inside the Kingdom ePub

by Robert Lacey

Robert Lacey English

ISBN 0099539055
ISBN13 978-0099539056
Language English
Author Robert Lacey
Publisher Random House; 39029th edition (2010)
Formats doc mbr rtf txt
Category No category
Size ePub 1987 kb
Size Fb2 1748 kb
Rating: 4.4
Votes: 351

Download ePub Download Fb2

Inside the Kingdom

Inside the Kingdom book.

Inside the Kingdom book. While living for years among the nation's princes & paupers, its clerics & progressives, Lacey endeavored to find out how the consequences of the 1970s oil boom produced a society at war with itself.

More than twenty years after he first moved to the country to write about the Saudis at the end of the oil boom, Lacey has returned to find out how the consequences of the boom produced a society at war with itself. Filled with stories told by a broad range of Saudis, from high princes and ambassadors to men and women on the street, Inside the Kingdom is in many ways the story of the Saudis in their own words.

Robert Lacey (born 3 January 1944) is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of bestselling biographies, including those of Henry Ford, Eileen Ford and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as several other works of popular history. He is best known for his work as historian to the Netflix award-winning drama The Crown. Lacey was educated at Selwyn College, Cambridge where he studied history.

24 in the 1960s: Reluctant to take his elder brother’s place for some time, Khaled eventually bowed to family pressure and became crown prince in 1965. i Al-Faisal, interview with author, Riyadh, February 11, 2008. 25 driving a new Lamborghini: Information from the prince’s co-driver. 25 bullet shattered the glass: Trofimov, p. 86. 26 by nine that morning: Ibid. p. 79, based on an interview with an officer in the force. 26 escape from the Mosque: Ibid. 74, based on the interviews subsequently given by Ibn Subayl.

Robert Lacey is one of very few to have been able to unlock them, not once but twice. Still think democracy's the answer? Lacey wonders if this book, too, will be banned in the Kingdom. What he reveals is of potentially far greater import than the financial fluctuations that have transfixed the media. In the early 1980s, copies of a book with no cover were surreptitiously passed around in expat circles in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran. Lacey's The Kingdom was banned in Saudi Arabia. Those returning to work there, like my parents, would tear off the outer leaves to bring it in past customs.

Books by Robert Lacey: The Crown: The Official Companion (2017) The Crown: The Inside History (2017).

To read this book, upload an EPUB or FB2 file to Bookmate.

Lacey also offers a brilliant glimpse into the delicate machinery of government, and the constant tension between 'ulema (religious establishment) and monarchy

Lacey also offers a brilliant glimpse into the delicate machinery of government, and the constant tension between 'ulema (religious establishment) and monarchy. In contrast to the office-holding ayatollahs in Iran, where the clergy seized power in 1979, the Saudi 'ulema has always shown a "reflexive loyalty" to monarchy.

Lacey, Robert - Travel - Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia - History - 1932-, Saudi Arabia - Politics and government - 1982-, Saudi Arabia - Social conditions, Saudi Arabia - Description and travel. inlibrary; printdisabled; ; china. Kahle/Austin Foundation.

Talk about Inside the Kingdom

Rit

My wife and I read The Year 1,000 by this (British I think) author, and loved it, so we looked for more of his works. Lacey writes with a straightforward, clear and entertaining style. This is a right-down-the-middle history of Saudi Arabia, with great details about the rise of Sunni jihad terrorism, Wahhabism, Al Qaeda and Bin Laden. It explores the struggle between Islamic fundamentalists and modernists in Saudi Arabia. This is neither a conservative nor a liberal book; Lacey says both positive and negative things about George Bush when he feels it is called for. He has lived in the Kingdom for many years, and obviously has an affection for the Saudis--but not all of them, and his views are not blinded by that. This is an essential book for understanding both the Middle East and the terrorist threat we are dealing with. I highly recommend it. Inshallah you will read it.

Robert A. Hall
Author: "The Coming Collapse of the American Republic."

Talrajas

Lacey has produced a very interesting history of Saudi Arabia (and by extend the House of Saud) from circa 1979 to 2009. He has managed to balance a chronological history of events in those tumultuous 30 years whilst also exploring themes such as the appeasement of religious in the wake of the 1979 storming of the Grand Mosque, modernisation, interaction with the West and the status of the minority Shia community.

Whilst Lacey has included some small amount of social commentary, ie a brief discussion of same sex lesbian relationships, rape, the social repression of Saudi society the book is very much in the Great Man school of history so dont buy this book if your looking for a man on the street view of Saudi society. Otherwise it is excellent.

I dont know if Lacey will live long enough to produce a trilogy but it is also worth mentioning that this book will be interesting to pick up in 20 years to see if some of the factors Lacey identifies have come to fruition. For example he talks about King Abdullah taking a strategic decision to seek other allies to the United States in 2004 in the wake of the invasion of Iraq. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the decades ahead and how prescient Lacey has been on this score and others.

Mitars Riders

I have been living in Saudi Arabia for a year now and I purchased this book to try and gain a better understanding of the people and the country. Unfortunately, most of the books on offer are written by expats and thus you will not get a balanced perspective of this exceptionally enigmatic country. Saying that though, Robert Lacey, has researched this subject very well and was granted privileged access to a number of subjects. He has put together a fantastic personal insight. I believe that the book is banned out here. Speak to any of the expats though and they will tell you that this is the definitive work on the country. I recommend this to any person travelling out to KSA, be it for business or to relocate. Just bear in mind that the locals will have a very different view surrounding many of the issues raised by Lacey.

Sataxe

This is a well written and thorough history of the Saudi kingdom and the royal family. The reader gets a full picture of Saudi domestic politics as well as the personalities of the various family members. This book enables the reader to understand why the Saudis act, react or refuse on an international level. The events of 9/11, the Gulf Wars, other Arab states, the Palestinians, and the Saudi relationship with the west, particularly America, are highlighted.
King Abdullah is now 89 years old. It is worth reading this book knowing that Saudi Arabia will continue to be a powerful influence in that part of the world.

WinDImmortaL

This book takes on the mass of contradictions that are the Kingdom of Arabia, and the modern world of the Islam. The author has lived in the kingdom, and so writes from personal observation rather from abstract academic study. It is a real eye opener! Today, when the US news media shows us the world only as it has immediately and directly affected the US, this book provides the background for the 'why' and 'how' of this powerful and most influential of Muslem countries.

Billy Granson

This is a very well researched and written account of the major events that have taken place in the Kingdom over the past 30 years. The description of the ruling Al-Saud family is very good and the portraits of the individual members are, in my opinion, very acurate.
The rise of Osama bin Laden is very well accurately portrayed and the author has been prolific in his sources, including personal interviews.
As a resident of Saudi Arabia, many of the characters are well know to me and I have met a few of them - this, of course, does a lot to bring the book to life for me. Having said that, I would not hesitate in recommending this as an introduction and explanation to what is currently going on in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East. The upheaval in Libya, Bahrain, Egypt etc becomes a lot clearer after reading books such as this.
Thououghly recommended if you have any interest in the region.

Pringles

This is a great book to understand the culture, the politics, and the contradictions of Saudi Arabia. The book has no prejudices and it is written in a fluent and easily readable style. Highly recommendable.

Excellent and comprehensive coverage of everything going on in Saudi Arabia politically, socially, and economically. I read it after reading the 2003 version of Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Saudi Arabia. I look forward to reading Lacey's earlier book.

You won't find a more comprehensive book on Saudi Arabia from the beginning to the present.

Related to Inside the Kingdom