This book offers a unique glimpse into the two forces that are trying to dominate Saoudi-Arabian society: the islamic legal scholars (ulama) and the royal Saud family. At the moment the ulama seem to be winning this battle, which leads to the implementation of strict islamic Hanbali law in almost all spheres of everyday life. The striving of the king to implement more westernized laws is largely ignored by the ulama and the islamic judges. All this makes the Saoudi-arabian islamic system of law an ideal subject for studying and understanding Islam. The book is fairly easy reading, although I would say that some preliminary knowledge about Islam is required.

Now I have this book lying around at home with my gradnfathers large collection of fascinating books...old and new. I recently opened it up and was amazed at how beautifully Jedda was described and portraied. See I live in Jedda...seeing how the editors put together the book so truthfully, I thought 'finally a book that shows a city/country as it's true self'. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to look into Arabian life.

this book focus on history. Anybody needs to know about the history of the Arab peninsula will find this book useful. I am sure the reader will enjoy the way Alrayhani write.

This is a good book, I learned a lot about prophet muhammed`s(PBUH) life his cleverness and his wisdom about managing and controlling people and solving very tuff problems...
I like this book but I would offer you another book with this . The book is called "Infinite Light" by fethullah gulen. It has a lot of real seen from prophet muhammed`s life, it cover all the aspects of prophet muhammed`s life, there are a lot of specific evets explained how Prophet muhammed actec in those tuff situation...so I strongly recommend that book...

While most works on the Ottoman Empire are centered on Istanbul (where the vast majority of sources are), this work charts a different course. Examining Ottoman rule in Syria, this work deals with the peripheral province as much to illuminate a new area for study as to mine little-used sources. He gives an excellent summary of the administrative policies, as well as how these impacted local social, economic, and political aspects of the community. He spends much time showing how the Ottoman administration represented only the highest level in the government heirarchy, while the vast majority of power remained in the hands of the local elite. This work is quite valuable in that it gives a real sense of the Syria of the time as well as the nature of Ottoman rule and how that reflects on the Ottoman government in general. This work charts a course that many other works have followed, yet still remains the starting point, one for scholars and students alike, to embark on a study of Ottoman Imperial policy.

St John (Jack) Philby, father of the famous -or infamous- Kim, got to know Ibn Saud during World War I as a British civil servant based in Baghdad, working for Sir Percy Cox. From their first meeting, Philby was enormously impressed with Ibn Saud, then struggling to affirm himself as one of several princes in Central Arabia. He took an instant liking to him, and this was the beginning of a life-long association. Over the ensuing years,Philby developed the feeling that the British Government was not treating the Arabs fairly and in addition was supporting Ibn Saud's rival, Sherif Hussein of Mecca and his sons, mainly through the support that one of these derived from T. E. Lawrence, in some ways Philby's rival. This eventually led Philby to resign from the civil service and establish himself in Arabia as one of Ibn Saud's senior advisers.
The book is well researched and well written. It takes you through the birth pangs of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Irak and covers a span from World War I to the reign of Ibn Saud's successor, King Saud. It also tells in a riveting way about Philby's desert exploration ventures, most notably in South Arabia's Empty Quarter and its borders with Yemen and the British Protectorate of Aden.
The author brings to life Philby's character, his peculiar family life and, most interestingly, his conversion to Islam.
I have found this book essential for a better understanding of Arabia and of Islam.
On the negative side, the printing of this edition -in a non-English-speaking country- leaves much to be desired: there are far too many typos which take away some of the reading enjoyment. Also, the maps are succint and could have been somewhat more generous. These two factors account for my holding back the 5th star!

The given book is certainly interesting, and one can get a general view of what were those "rulers of Mecca", where they came from and so on. But for those interested in some certain period of Mecca's life the book offers only small bits of information, for it's aim is a bit vague, and it covers just too big a piece of time to give certain details, which, no doubt, are of interest. So, the book may serve as a good starting point to study the history of Hijaz, yet no more, and after reading it (if interested) one has to search further for more to satisfy his appetite.

The book ¡°Saudi Arabian Modernization¡± by John A. Shaw and David E. Long discusses the many problems that Saudi Arabia experienced on the way to her attempted modernization. The authors of this book present an interesting question about how it is possible that two parts of the world, so dependent on each other¡¯s support, can remain so ideologically different. Another issue that the authors try to analyze is the how the modernization process affects and changes the Saudi Arabian society and how these changes can cause instability. The book was published in 1982 so it does not account for any of the events after that year, and most importantly it does not take into consideration the Gulf War which had enormous impact on Saudi Arabia. The book is not organized chronologically but conceptually; in other words, the authors look at different concepts that have an effect on Saudi Arabia¡¯s modernization such as the economic development and the changes in society. Throughout the book, the authors also manage to fully support their idea of an Islamic cage that imprisons and controls every aspect of politics and society in Saudi Arabia, thus leaving no space for modernization and stability.
The first section of the book discusses Saudi Arabia¡¯s economic situation and explains the process of technical modernization. According to Shaw and Long, economy has had and continues to have great impacts on Saudi Arabia¡¯s move towards modernization. In order to support their views, the authors give a brief but thorough explanation of Saudi¡¯s economy. The authors present us with an interesting and very true statement about Saudi Arabia¡¯s laissez faire economy and its Islamic nature: ¡°Unlike the protestant work ethic that more or less guides American economic activity, Islam does not distinguish between the world of the flesh and the world of the spirit.¡± This basically means that in the Saudi mind, God is the creator of all things and if people have wealth it is because God wants it to be so. In that case, no man should feel guilty about easily acquiring huge amounts of wealth without having to work hard for it. This, according to Shaw and Long, deprives Saudi Arabia from a work ethic without which there can never be modernization such as in the Western world. Shaw and Long further try to make certain that we fully understand how Saudi Arabia¡¯s economy works and that it is entirely based on oil. With its huge incomes from the oil industry, Saudi Arabia has every reason and potential to establish a highly modernized infrastructure. Here the authors imply the importance of the three Five Year Plans that resulted in high technological advances in the sectors of communication, transportation, utilities, housing, health and education (p.11). The first part of the book, therefore, is a nicely written preview of the beginnings of Saudi Arabian industrialization and technological modernization. It is then crucial to understand how it was possible that all this materialization did not manage to corrupt the strong religious and cultural ideologies of the people.
The second part of the book is a critical analysis of the Saudi Arabian society, its response to modernization and its impact on stability. The analysis revolves around the many different groups that exist in the Saudi Arabian nation, such as the Royal Family, at the top of the pyramid, the military, the technocrats, the merchants, the students, the common people, the students, the religious leadership, the women, the Shi¡¯ites and the dissidents. The authors manage to critically assess each group of people as well as apply the ways in which each group responds to the economic factors and the movement towards modernization. All these subjects of society have in some way been dysfunctional and have been the cause of instability, say Shaw and Long. The Royal Family, with its personalized regime, for example, has left no space for a modern, delegated authority. The military, with its materialistic incentives (p.67), has virtually no manpower and therefore no power at all to make any decisions. The technocrats have not been able to develop a masterplan of public administration (p.74) and mobility, thus slinging to traditional rules rather than wanting to modernize. The merchants, who almost always consist of large families controlling large areas of the business, are highly dependent on the ruling elite and also do not attempt to deviate from it. The students and the Saudi common man, according to Shaw and Long, are in no rush to change any policies and are just as happy living in a traditional society simply because they do not know any better. The role of women, being to take care of the household, is another factor that can only bring about a bigger gap in the sphere of manpower and labor. At the end of the social pyramid is the religious leadership, which is also the basis building block of the whole Saudi Arabian society. Shaw and Long express their view that Islam is a political ideology that is above all people and concepts (p.88). The second part of the book, as I have described it above, gives the reader a basic understanding of the Saudi mind and how different people live and work in their own organizations without really bringing about any modernization and thus creating instability. In a society like this one, labor is insufficient, manpower is absent and most of the capital goes to the hands of a few rich people. This, according to Long and Shaw, is also the cause of instability and is the main block to modernization.
¡°Saudi Arabian Modernization¡± is a book that manages to make a long story short. It gives the reader a sufficient amount of knowledge in order to understand Saudi Arabian ideologies. The authors then propose several questions about why modernization has not been able to work, in what ways the Saudi Arabian society is instable and how all of that can change in the future. One flaw that this book has is that sometimes the authors fail to give enough factual evidence to support their claims and the reader is left with too many personal opinions. The overall impression, however, after reading this book is that it is short and precise. The book is also well-organized which makes it easy to follow and comprehend. It is a great source of information and the authors manage to support all their ideas very strongly, leaving us with many interesting interpretations of various issues.

Hamza Bogary's The Sheltered Quarter is a wonderful novel about the days before oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia. It details the life of Muhaisin AL-Baliy, a boy growing up raised only by his mother due to his father's death beofre he was born. The book tells of his trials in school with bullies and the like and that he does very well there and becomes an avid reader, so much so that he reads by a streetlight by night because his house doesn't have a proper light. You learn about Auntie Asma, a friend of his mother's who gives her advice on things concerning Muhaisin. She is also a strange women who believes in many superstitions and practices odd rituals. Other characters encountered are Amm Ustad, a freemason, and Muhaisin's likn to the changing world outside Mecca. Overall The Sheltered Quarter is a funa nad interesting read that can enjoyed by anyone looking for a book with good descripttive language and a fascinating story to tell. I know i sure enjoyed reading this wonderful tale, plus it enlightened me to some of things about the Saudi culture i didn't know.

The book is exactly as it's title states, it is a 'simple guide'. Having said that, it is a good introduction to understanding basic etiquette and helped build a better picture for someone who has never been to the middle east. This book would certainly be a useful 'pocket guide', however I was left wanting for more information.