As the world waits for answers about Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance, we asked our international correspondent David Kirkpatrick, who wrote “Into the Hands of the Soldiers: Freedom and Chaos in Egypt and the Middle East,” to suggest three books to help us understand Saudi Arabia and United States relations with that country. ImageTHE KINGDOMArabia and the House of Sa’udBy Robert Lacey630 pp. (1981)Kirkpatrick calls this book a “readable history” of how Saudi Arabia was formed in the early 1900s by a man named Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Faisal as-Saud (often known in the West as Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud), who reclaimed power over the region after his family had lost it in the 1700s. “He used marriage as a diplomatic instrument, making his own bed the focus of efforts to bind the territories he conquered,” wrote our reviewer. ImageKINGS AND PRESIDENTSSaudi Arabia and the United States Since FDRBy Bruce Riedel272 pp.

Source: New York Times October 20, 2018 13:00 UTC