Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia

Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia
By Robert Lacey
Viking, 2009. 404 pgs. Nonfiction

Robert Lacey is the author of twenty books, including “The Kingdom” which was published in 1983. He has lived in Saudi Arabia for the last three years. “Inside the Kingdom” traces the impact of the uprising in Mecca in 1979, the contradictory consequences of the invasion of Kuwait and the repercussions of 9/11 on Saudi society. He gives enough historical background to help the reader understand the religious and political background of Arabia. Of greatest interest are his interviews with Saudi citizens through which we can see the impact of outside events on peoples’ lives and attitudes.

The last thirty years have been critical ones for the world and for the nation of Saudi Arabia. Lacey does an excellent job of summing up Saudi attitudes and the direction the royal family is trying to take Saudi in the years to come. “Inside the Kingdom” is accessible and interesting, even for those who know little about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

SH