CaspianReport

Review: On Saudi Arabia by Karen Elliott House (2016x5)

: 29, 2016

On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - and Future by Karen Elliott House explores the many dynamic perspectives of life in the Saudi kingdom. House, who is a former publisher of The Wall Street Journal, spent about thirty years traveling to the country, meeting with hundreds of princes, politicians, activists and conservatives. In her book, On Saudi Arabia, she discloses her experiences. Through observation, extensive interviews and even anecdotes, House analysis, what she refers to as, the Saudi labyrinth. The thing is that Saudi Arabia is not a modern totalitarian republic like the communist North Korea but rather a dictatorial regime with a fanatically conservative society. Of all the nations in the world, the Saudi kingdom is perhaps the most distinct country from the Western world. On Saudi Arabia reveals how this mysterious state, a top producer of oil and Muslim extremists attempts to balance oil revenues, the religious establishment and the disenfranchisemen