The Kingdom

Arabia & The House of Sa'ud

By: Robert Lacey

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

The Kingdom is the story of a country - a country of astonishing contrasts, where routine computer printouts open with the words “In the name of God,” where men who grew up in goat-hair tents now dominate the money markets of the world, and where murderers and adulterers are publicly executed in the street. By its own reckoning, this country is just entering the 15th century.

The Kingdom is also the story of a family - a family that has fought its way from poverty and obscurity into wealth and power the likes of which the world has never known, a family characterized by fierce loyalty among its members, ruthlessness toward its enemies, and dedication to one of the world’s most severe and demanding creeds.

The Kingdom is Saudi Arabia - the only country in the world to bear the name of the family that rules it.

©1981 Robert Lacey (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“In Saudi Arabia, Robert Lacey had the kind of access most journalists only dream of.” (David Brancaccio)

“Frederick Davidson’s well-paced, crisp, and forthright reading commands the listener’s attention.” ( AudioFile)

“[Lacey’s] grasp of Saudi thinking and purposes is most intensely felt in the final, 1973-and-after, section—where he is able to make sympathetically intelligible, even inescapable, everything from the oil boycott to the Saudis’ nonconservation of their one valuable resource, from their tolerance of internal dissidence to their outrage at the TV-film Death of a Princess.” ( Kirkus Reviews)

A 'bible' for understanding Saudi Arabia

What made the experience of listening to The Kingdom the most enjoyable?

The historical details. The stories that illuminated the culture and mores of a people who care deeply about their traditions. And the scope. The scope of material is impressive.

What other book might you compare The Kingdom to and why?

Any thing else by Lacey. His research is thorough and yet he retains a detached respect for his subject.

What about Frederick Davidson’s performance did you like?

The accent and the characters he conveys throughout the book. He does a great job at capturing a voice of a given character in the book and brings the stories alive.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No such reaction. My response was one of appreciation for the breadth and depth of research on the part of the author.

Engaging and thought provoking

I really enjoyed this lively account of history and culture. Bits of the personalities of historical figures made it fun and interesting.

Extraordinary

A riveting portrayal of the founding of Saudi Arabia until the early 1980s. Full of characters and insights.

Some recording issues

Was an interesting book, but at times the recording quality was poor. Overall, still worth listening to if you’re interested in learning about Saudi Arabia.

A solid effort

Writing this review is very hard. I lived in Saudi Arabia for 10 years and was eager to read the sections on Abdual Aziaz early conquest of the kingdom and the dealings with I'quan, especially since the later topic was almost a taboo topic among the generation of Saudis old enough to remember them The book also does a good job at explaining the pivital role played the late king Fisal, love him or hate him he is critical to any history of the kingdom.

The problems with the book are two fold.the first is with the text, it almost too detailed. the names often run together even though I knew the major players I found myself rewinding and having trouble keeping track of who was being talked about. the second problem is the narration Fredrick Davidson reads in a dry laconic style which with a book this long it can become dull to listen for long periods.

While the the book was good and informative I find it hard to recommend the book to wide audience given the esoteric nature of the topic but for those interested in the kingdom this book is full of good tidbits and follows a logical pattern but for those looking for an introduction I recommend Lacy's 2009 follow up to this book inside the kingdom

Great history

This book has a great history of the country
Interesting read and I would highly recommend

Ageless and timely

I still remember the well-aged professor who made this book a part of our required reading. I enjoyed the knowledge that I gained twenty-some years ago and glad that I found it as an audio book this time around. With the world news reeling from the developments in Afghanistan, I found this book even more timely. It should be a required reading. If nothing else, it can help us find respect for each other, other faiths, and our own personal beliefs.

Insightful and Lively, but ends too soon.

This is history the way I like it - narrative, character, author naming their perspective. So often western writers get Islamic culture all wrong. Lacey knows what he's talking about, you can feel it in every paragraph.

I really wanted to hear this author and this perspective taking the story further up to the present day. Nevertheless, it's a great historical story of the Saudi nation from founding to late 20th century. And it's a great story in it's own right just for the situations, culture, and characters.

Having a Tough Time Cutting Through Orientalism

Lacey's work is something I reference a great deal when I'm looking for research on Saudi Arabia, but most of what I had previously engaged with was his newer work. This book is a good summary and, like all of his stuff, is well-written, but it also has a pretty strong undercurrent of British colonial Orientalism and a feeling of racial disdain (see the sections dealing with Bedouin custom). Many people would push back on this, but there is a lot of other scholarship from the time that views the Arabs as actors and full humans in their own right (see Malcolm Kerr's The Arab Cold War) and I don't believe this book does that. It doesn't help that the voice actor sounds like a bond villain.

bad voiceover quality

bad voiceover quality

bad voiceover quality

bad voiceover quality

bad voiceover quality

bad voiceover quality
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