Customer Reviews

The Struggle for Power in Arabia: Ibn Saud, Hussein and Great Britain, 1914-1924

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Ms. Alangari has produced a master work of analysis and synthesis that describes the factors involved in Ibn Saud's rise to power in spite of the weakness and original lack of cohesion and motivation among his followers and the strength of his enemies. Her research is all-encompassing: her references and bibliography are more complete than those in any other work covering the decade in question. Her conclusions regarding the nature and foundation of the political authority of the two major protagonists appear indisputable. I quote the penultimate sentences in the book: "Ibn Saud succeeded because he developed a finely-honed clarity of vision in a religiously devout society. It was this mutual affinity between Ibn Saud and his extended social groups which provided the necessary social consent to end over one thousand years of Hashemite rule. The book is not for the casual reader, but the specialist will find ample reward in a careful study of its content

Ms. Alangari has produced a master work of analysis and synthesis that describes the factors involved in Ibn Saud's rise to power in spite of the weakness and original lack of cohesion and motivation among his followers and the strength of his enemies. Her research is all-encompassing: her references and bibliography are more complete than those in any other work covering the decade in question. Her conclusions regarding the nature and foundation of the political authority of the two major protagonists appear indisputable. I quote the penultimate sentences in the book: "Ibn Saud succeeded because he developed a finely-honed clarity of vision in a religiously devout society. It was this mutual affinity between Ibn Saud and his extended social groups which provided the necessary social consent to end over one thousand years of Hashemite rule." The book is not for the casual reader, but the specialist will find ample reward in a careful study of its content