Twilight in the Desert
Chapter One
The Birth of a Nation
A Century of Extraordinary Change
and Economic Challenges
The West has had very little appreciation of the rich history and culture
of the entire Islamic Middle East. Knowledge of Saudi Arabia,
in particular, was almost nonexistent until oil was discovered in
1938. Even after oil was found, the kingdom remained cloaked in obscurity
for another three decades. Once the kingdom was thrust onto the
world stage, obscurity gave way to glaring celebrity and negative stereotypes.
Today, although much more is known about
Saudi Arabia, ignorance and prejudice are only
slowly giving way to understanding.
Only a handful of geopolitical experts and oilmen
has ever traveled to this remote part of the
world. Despite the critical role Saudi Arabia's oil
now plays in the world economy, many people still
assume the country consists of a few thousand
wealthy princes squandering an endless flow of
petro-dollars in self-ind ... read full excerpt from Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy ebook
