© Columbia University Press
The Paradoxical Kingdom: Saudi Arabia and the Momentum of Reform
Paper, 320 pages,
ISBN: 978-0-231-12815-5
$23.00
/ £13.50
April, 2003
Cloth, 320 pages,
ISBN: 978-0-231-12814-8
$77.50
"Deserves a round of applause." — Arnold Beichman, Washington Times
"In this detailed, informative, and well-researched study, Champion focuses on the challenges Saudi Arabia faces both at home and abroad and the sociopolitical and economic factors that may undermine its stability in the 21st century. This evenhanded account is recommended for academic and large public libraries." — Library Journal
"This book is for both the specialist and the non-specialist alike, since it presents a comprehensive analysis of the Kingdom . . . [A]ccompanied by interviews with a range of Saudi personalities including some related to the regime . . . this is a serious study that is worth attention, whether one is approaching the complexities of the Saudi regime for the first time or wishes to examine more closely the predicaments currently faced by the Kingdom." — Alejandra Galindo Marines, International Affairs
"Champion offers an excellent review of Saudi history . . . Highly recommended [for] graduate, faculty, and professional collections." — Choice
"Saudi stability is the subject of Daryl Champion's bookThe Paradoxical Kingdom. Champion starts from the premise that Saudi Arabia remains of critical economic and strategic importance to the West. . . . He has done a good job of synthesizing the workd of other observers of the Saudi scene and weighing the merits of their research. . . . His conclusions are balanced and avoid the alarmist tone of so much other recent writing about the kingdom." — Brooks Wrampelmeier, Middle East Policy
"The overall scope of the book and the author's keen insights help dispel much of the misinformation and misperceptions that seem to cloud outsiders' views of this important but essentially closed society." — David E. Long, Middle East Journal
"His style is meticulous and he is... adept at interweaving and overlapping an enormous amount of material." — Peter C. Valenti, Arab Studies Journal