King Faisal of Saudi Arabia: Personality, Faith and Times - Hardcover

'A masterpiece of scholarship - brings to life the legacy of one of Saudi Arabia's most interesting and also influential figures. This book, clearly a result of years of research and reflection, is the most comprehensive and accomplished account of King Faisal's upbringing, his youth, and reign.' Professor Anoush Ehteshami, Durham University " - detailed and fascinating biography - the story(Vassiliev) tells is a remarkable one. Faisal was an authoritarian ruler who stamped out opposition, and Western diplomats often found him cantankerous. Still, if his father created Saudi Arabia within its current borders, it was Faisal who knitted it together, using oil wealth to turn a backward desert society into a modern state and an actor on the world stage." The Economist

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 in the head at point-blank range. 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 US through two Arab - Israeli wars and the 1973 Arab oil embargo. Throughout, he staked high hopes on cooperation with the US, a relationship that is still vital to both countries' interests.