Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis - Hardcover

Bradley, John R.

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9781403964335: Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1403964335 ISBN 13: 9781403964335

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005

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Saudi Arabia: land of oil, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, and a crucial American ally. As the only Western journalist to have extensively worked in the Saudi Kingdom, John R. Bradley is uniquely able to expose the turmoil that is shaking the House of Saud to its foundations. From the heart of the secretive Islamic kingdom's urban centers to its most remote mountainous terrain, from the homes of royalty to the slums of its poorest inhabitants, he provides intimate details and reveals underlying regional, religious, and tribal rivalries. Bradley highlights tensions generated by social change, focuses on the educational system, the increasing restlessness of Saudi youth faced with limited opportunities for cultural and political expression, and the predicament of Saudi women seeking opportunities but facing constraints. What are the implications for the Sauds and the West? This book offers a startling look at the present predicament and a troubling view of the future.

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From the Inside Flap:

Saudi Arabia, a land of oil, terrorism, and Islamic fundamentalism, and a crucial American ally. In this highly revealing account of a kingdom in trouble, John R. Bradley explores the fault lines of a fractured society, providing uncommon insight into the people and society of Saudi Arabia.

Through the gripping narrative focusing on how regular Saudis live under the ruling Al-Saud family, Bradley exposes:

* How the ruling family's wealth breeds resentment among their people * How the contradictions between the Al-Saud's political promises and their actions undermine their legitimacy * How regional divisions within the kingdom threaten to tear it apart

From the heart of urban centers to Saudi Arabia's most remote mountainous terrain, from the royalty to the destitute who inhabit the kingdom's slums, Bradley introduces us to fascinating people and places and unveils the workings of this mysterious society.

He provides intimate details of underlying regional, religious, and tribal rivalries, and highlights the tensions generated by social change. Also revealed is the restlessness of Saudi youth torn between the security of tradition and the appeal of the West, and the predicament of Saudi women seeking opportunities but facing constraints.

Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis offers a unique and startling look at the present Saudi predicament, and a troubling view of the future.

About the Author:

JOHN R. BRADLEY (johnrbradley.wordpress.com) was born in England and was educated at University College London, Dartmouth College in the United States, and Exeter College, Oxford. He is the author of four non-fiction books on the contemporary Arab world published by Palgrave Macmillan that draw heavily on his personal experience: Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis (2005); Inside Egypt: The Land of the Pharaohs on the Brink of a Revolution (2008; updated edition 2012); Behind the Veil of Vice: The Business and Culture of Sex in the Middle East (2010); and After the Arab Spring: How Islamists Hijacked the Middle East Revolts (2012). Bradley has been covering the Middle East for almost two decades. He has written essays, dispatches, reviews, and op-eds for numerous publications, including: The Washington Quarterly, The New Republic, The Times Literary Supplement, The Spectator, Salon, The London Telegraph, The Forward, The London Evening Standard, The New York Post, The London Sunday Times, Foreign Affairs, The Financial Times, The Daily Mail, The Independent, The Jewish Chronicle, The Washington Times, Newsweek, Asia Times, Prospect, and The Economist. He has been interviewed about the Middle East by CNN, the BBC, PBS, NPR, CBS, Fox News, Al-Jazeera English, Sky News, Russia Today, Channel 4 News, Bloomberg TV, and many other media outlets. Bradley's public lectures have most recently taken place at The Pacific Council for International Affairs in Los Angeles, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, London's Intelligence Squared, and The Athenaeum in Claremont, California.

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