Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, a young prince from the heart of the Arabian interior, began his extraordinary ascent to power in 1902. He reclaimed the realm of his ancestors, extending his domain from one coast to the other and establishing guardianship of the Muslim Holy Places. He laid the basis of the modern Saudi state in a land where life had changed little since the time of Muhammad: religious faith, clan loyalties, and personal honor were its moral inspiration, the dreadful heat and menacing emptiness of the desert its frame. Cutting through the clichÔes that cover the West's lack of understanding of the House of Saud, this book offers a highly informed, balanced assessment of the kingdom and its ruling family--from the emergence of this desert dynasty on the world stage to its current key position in oil politics.