TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Expats:
Where the author talks about when he first came to Saudi Arabia in 1983, comparing it to his return twenty years later with wife and children, and why they chose to leave the secure but inane life they had in suburbia for the uncertainties of living in the desert kingdom; about life as Diplomatic Quarter groupies, interviews with foreign diplomats, compound living, and the expat subculture.

2. Riyadh:
Where the author goes into local history, Saudi tourism, Wadi Hanifah, the growth of Riyadh from its early beginnings, his favorite parts of Riyadh such a Chop-Chop Square, the need to get out from time to time, and his attempt at disguise.

3. Very Poor People From Very Poor Countries:
Where the author compares the experiences of Third Country Nationals-The Prince's driver, the carpet man, X-ray techs, poor Saudis--a child selling water, plus interviews with a Filipina maid and an Indian taxi driver.

4. The Saudis:
Where the author looks at the history of the present kingdom in an attempt to describe the origins of the term "Saudi," the discovery of oil, the importance in a name, results of first cousins marrying, socializing with Saudis, Saudiization, the Saudi military, and interviews with a Western military attaché and others.

5. Being a Woman in Saudi Arabia:
Where the author and his wife discover that some places are off limits to women, the many restrictions placed on women, how some Saudi men view women, how dangerous it can be to be a woman in Saudi Arabia; and interviews with two American Muslim women, and a West African and a Saudi woman.

6. Living Dangerously:
Where the author talks about the real dangers that go with living in Saudi Arabia-driving, the second war with Iraq, car bombings and other terrorist acts; and the family's final departure from the Magic Kingdom.

Bruce Petty's uncommonly perceptive account of life in the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia makes it possible for the reader to understand an elusive world that few westerners will ever penetrate.
Writing with riveting honesty, Petty interweaves the compelling stories of Saudi life with brief narratives of his own migrations.
Recounting ordinary life while avoiding the tricky political dimension, Petty's important book presents a profound indictment of inhumanity to women, poignantly conveying a sense of the daily struggles common to most Saudi women.
Altogether a remarkable book that spans many sides of a baffling country and its conflicted citizens.

Jean Sasson, New York Times and international best selling author of
PRINCESS: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil and MAYADA, Daughter of Iraq.

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