Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
"A detailed and fascinating biography."—The Economist
"A masterpiece of scholarship. . . . [Vassiliev] has managed to bring to life the legacy of one of Saudi Arabia's most interesting and influential figures."—Anoush Ehteshami, Durham University
In 1964 Faisal bin Abdul Aziz became king of a country holding a quarter of the world's oil reserves, also home to Mecca and Medina. He was called "the most powerful Arab ruler in centuries." Eleven years later, in front of television cameras, his nephew shot him at point-blank range.
In this authoritative biography, Alexei Vassiliev tells the story of a pious, cautious and resolute leader who steered Saudi Arabia through a minefield of domestic problems, inter-Arab relations and the decline of Soviet influence in the Middle East. King Faisal maintained ties with both Egypt and the United States through two Arab-Israeli wars and the 1973 Arab oil embargo, which revolutionized the world energy market. Throughout, he staked high hopes on cooperation with the United States, a relationship that is still vital to both countries' interests.
Exhaustively researched and including original documents and interviews in Arabic, Russian, and English, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia offers a unique perspective of this seminal figure and is key to understanding the Arab world today.
Alexei Vassiliev is Honorary President of the Institute for African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is the author of over forty books, including the acclaimed The History of Saudi Arabia, winner of the Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award, and Central Asia: Political and Economic Challenges in the Post-Soviet Era.
Preface
Chapter one: The Delicate Youth on a Fiery Horse
Chapter two: The Father
Chapter three: An Adolescent Discovers the Big, Big World
Chapter four: From Youngster to Statesman
Chapter five: Viceroy of Hijaz, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Military Commander
Chapter six: Oil and Gold
Chapter seven: Faisal and Iffat, Iffat and Faisal
Chapter eight: World War II and the Discovery of America
Chapter nine: The Autumn and Winter of the Patriarch
Chapter ten: My Brother, My King, My Sorrow
Chapter eleven: The Pendulum: Premiership to Dismissal to Deputy Premiership
Chapter twelve: To Be or Not to Be
Chapter thirteen: The Road to the Throne – Without Bloodshed
Chapter fourteen: King at Last
Chapter fifteen: Nasser and the Yemen Trap
Chapter sixteen: The Six-Day War
Chapter seventeen: Two Yemens: A Headache, but No Threat
Chapter eighteen: Political Realities, Old and New
Chapter nineteen: Al-Aqsa Ablaze
Chapter twenty: Taming Aramco
Chapter twenty-one: Death of Nasser, Rise of Sadat
Chapter twenty-two: The Year 1973: Five to Twelve
Chapter twenty-three: The 1973 War
Chapter twenty-four: 1973: The Embargo
Chapter twenty-five: “The Mightiest of Arab Rulers”
chapter twenty-six: Poitiers, American-Style?
Chapter twenty-seven: A New Relationship with the US
Chapter twenty-eight: Financial Might: Beyond the Possible
Chapter twenty-nine: Storm of Change: the King Is Assassinated
Epilogue
Endnotes
Bibliography