Saudi Arabia Exposed

Saudi Arabia: land of oil, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, and a crucial American ally. As the only Western journalist to have extensively worked in the Saudi Kingdom, John R. Bradley is uniquely able to expose the turmoil that is shaking the House of Saud to its foundations. From the heart of the secretive Islamic kingdom's urban centers to its most remote mountainous terrain, from the homes of royalty to the slums of its poorest inhabitants, he provides intimate details and reveals underlying regional, religious, and tribal rivalries. Bradley highlights tensions generated by social change, focuses on the educational system, the increasing restlessness of Saudi youth faced with limited opportunities for cultural and political expression, and the predicament of Saudi women seeking opportunities but facing constraints.

Book Author

John-r-bradley John R. Bradley was born in England in 1970. He was educated at University College London, Dartmouth College in the United States, and Exeter College, Oxford. Fluent in Arabic, he is the author of four books on the region that draw heavily on his personal experience: Saudi Arabia Exposed (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), a Foreign Affairs bestseller; the critically acclaimed Inside Egypt (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008; updated 2012), which uniquely and accurately predicted the Jan. 25 Cairo uprising; Behind the Veil of Vice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010); and After the Arab Spring (Palgrave Macmillan, 20...
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Book Reviews

  • The New York Times
    "A highly informed, temperate, and understanding account of a country… that is an enigma…. Bradley, although based in Jeddah, traveled far and wide throughout the country in an effort to map the regional tensions and cultural distinctions that make Saudi Arabia much more diverse and complicated than the smooth propaganda of its government would allow."
  • Foreign Affairs
    "Bradley is at his best when he profiles common Saudis, juxtaposing their humanity with the brutality and profligacy of the Saudi regime. Saudi Arabia Exposed brings to life the tensions between rulers and ruled, offering poignant evidence of widespread disillusionment with the royal family."
  • United Press International
    "The most revealing and important book on the real Saudi Arabia to have been published in years… Bradley gives the insights of a Saudi insider who knows and loves the country, and one who is also a Western journalist; he is someone who knows how the game is played on both sides, as very few Westerners do."
  • The Nation
    "(Bradley) uses a graceful journalist’s pen to write with scholarly authority (and) shows a sensitivity rare for a Westerner, reaching directly to the society’s core."
  • Newsweek
    "A thoughtful, incisive portrait of a fractured nation. . . [a] remarkable volume."
  • BBC Online
    "Cultured, curious, and with a fine journalistic sense…, Bradley got deeper into the grains of this desert country than most other Westerners. [He] observed the contradictions, tensions, and resistance that undermine the legitimacy of the Saudi regime."
  • Al-Ahram Weekly (Egypt)
    "Bradley’s book… could not be more timely. Brimming with hard-won information, it lifts the lid on a key Arab country."
  • Knight Ridder
    "A book recommendation: Several reviewers call Saudi Arabia Exposed… the best work on the country in decades."
  • New York Post
    "Offers insight into Saudi life seldom reported in the West…. Bradley had a rare opportunity to travel, meet people from different backgrounds, and… experience the ‘downstairs’ side of life there."
  • The Oaklahoman
    "Making an excellent case for future trouble from religious fanatics bent on regional and world domination, Bradley explains how the tenets of Islam are perverted to manipulate the poor, the malcontents and the dispossessed, who then aim their hatred at America and Europe . . . This is a disturbing and well-written book."
  • Haaretz (Israel)
    "Bradley . . . succeeded in traveling to [Saudi Arabia’s] most remote corners . . . This book makes the Saudi kingdom into an energetic and multi-dimensional place where religion and its perils are no doubt important, but only part of the picture."
  • Le Monde Diplomatique
    "Bradley occupied for two years a privileged position from which to observe the evolution of the kingdom following the Sept. 11 attacks. [He] immersed himself in the world of the Saudis."
  • Los Angeles Times Book Review
    "Contribute[s] significantly to the debate. . . . Bradley had a unique vantage. Buy this book."
  • Publishers Weekly
    "Bradley is at his best when he writes about the press, providing what is truly an insider’s look and untangling some of the knotted ties between the media, the Saudi government and the United States."
  • Library Journal
    "Recommended as popular background reading on a country much in the news."
  • The Straits Times (Singapore)
    "The author’s empathy for the ordinary, the customary and the contingent . . . makes this a remarkable book."