Support Us
 
Search
MENUMENU
  • Nonfiction
        • Art
          • Architecture
          • Art History
          • Design & Illustration
          • Fashion & Style
          • Modern and Contemporary Art
          • Photography
        • Business
          • How to Invest
          • Leadership
          • Marketing
        • Economics
          • Behavioural Economics
          • Development Economics
          • Economic History
          • Finance
          • Financial Crisis
          • Globalization Books
          • World Economies
        • Environment
          • Climate Change
          • Environmental Ethics
        • Food & Cooking
          • The Best Cookbooks
          • Food & History of Food
          • Wine & Drinks
        • Health & Lifestyle
          • Death & Dying
          • Education
          • Family & Relationships
          • Happiness
          • Sex & Sexuality
        • History Books
          • American History
          • Ancient History (up to 500)
          • Modern History (1800-1945)
          • History of Science
          • Historical Figures
          • Military History
        • Language
          • Grammar & Punctuation
          • Learning Languages
          • Linguistics
        • Law
        • Literary Nonfiction
          • Biography
          • Essays
          • Memoir
          • Artists' Biographies
          • Travel
          • True Crime
        • Music & Drama
          • Classical Music & Opera
          • Film & Cinema
          • Music
          • Theatre
        • Nature
          • Dinosaurs & the Prehistoric World
          • The Earth
          • Plants, Trees & Flowers
        • Philosophy
          • Ancient Philosophy
          • Ethics & Moral Philosophy
          • Great Philosophers
          • Social & Political Philosophy
        • Politics & Society
          • War
          • Feminism
          • Foreign Policy & International Relations
          • Human Rights
          • Terrorism
        • Psychology
          • Mental Health
          • Neuroscience
          • Psychoanalysis
          • Psychology Research
          • Self Help
        • Religion
          • Best Atheist Books
          • Buddhism
          • Christian
          • Islamic
          • Jewish
          • Religious History
        • Science
          • Astronomy
          • Biology
          • Geoscience
          • Maths & Statistics
          • Moon Landing
          • Popular Science
          • Physics
        • Sports, Games & Hobbies
          • Football (Soccer)
          • Gardening
          • Hobbies
          • Sport & Sporting Culture
        • Technology
          • Artificial Intelligence
          • Computing
          • Digital Age
          • History of Technology
          • Internet
  • Fiction & Literature
        • Classic English Literature
        • American Literature
        • World Literature
        • Literary Criticism
        • Literary Figures
        • Classical Studies
        • Contemporary Fiction
          • NEW Fiction
        • Poetry
        • Memoir
        • Comics & Graphic Novels
        • Fairy Tales & Mythology
        • Historical Fiction
        • Horror
        • Humour
        • Crime Novels
        • Science Fiction
        • Short Stories
        • Romance
        • Thrillers
        • Mystery
        • Fantasy
  • World
        • Africa
          • Egypt
          • Ghana
          • Nigeria
          • Rwanda
          • South Africa
          • Zimbabwe
        • Americas
          • Latin America
            • Argentina
            • Brazil
            • Chile
            • Cuba
            • Mexico
          • United States
          • Canada
        • Arctic & Antarctica
        • Asia
          • Afghanistan
          • Burma
          • China
          • India
          • Japan
          • Korea
          • Pakistan
          • Bangladesh
          • Sri Lanka
          • Singapore
          • Vietnam
        • Australia
        • Europe
          • Belgium
          • Britain
          • France
          • Germany
          • Greece
          • Ireland
          • Italy
          • Netherlands
          • Norway
          • Spain
        • Middle East
          • Iran
          • Iraq
          • Israel
          • Syria
          • Turkey
          • Yemen
        • Russia & FSU
          • Azerbaijan
          • Georgia
          • Russia
          • Ukraine
  • Kids
        • Best New Kids' Books
        • Prizewinning Kids' Books
        • High School Teachers Recommend Books by Subject
        • Best Audiobooks for Kids
        • Novels & Novelists
        • Books for Teens and Young Adults
        • Ages 9-12
        • Ages 6-8
        • Ages 3-5
        • Kids Recommend Books for Kids
        • Economics
        • Environment
        • Family
        • Mental Health
        • Science
  • Best Books of 2020
        • Politics
        • Biography
        • Memoirs and Autobiography
        • Cookbooks
        • Business
        • Philosophy
        • Fiction
          • Crime Fiction
          • Science Fiction
          • Historical Fiction
          • Romance
          • Mysteries
          • Thrillers
        • Nonfiction
        • Art
        • Economics
        • History
        • Science
        • Self Help
        • Audiobooks
        • Poetry
        • Kids' Books
        • Kids' Science
  • New Books
  • Audiobooks
    • Actors Read Great Books
    • Best Audiobooks for Kids
    • Books Narrated by Their Authors
    • Best Audiobook Thrillers
    • Best History Audiobooks
  • Book Awards
    • Booker Prize
    • Baillie Gifford Prize
    • Royal Society
    • Wolfson Prize
    • Walter Scott Prize
    • Arthur C Clarke Prize
    • Audie Awards
    • Nobel Prize
  • Experts

World » Asia » Middle East » Saudi Arabia

Browse book recommendations:

Middle East

  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Israel
  • Lebanon
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Syria
  • Turkey

Asia

  • Afghanistan
  • Azerbaijan
  • Burma
  • China
  • Georgia
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Japan
  • Middle East
  • North Korea
  • Pakistan
  • Russia
  • Singapore
  • Vietnam

World

  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Arctic & Antarctica
  • Asia
  • Australia
  • Cities
  • Europe

Editor's note, early 2021: A report from the US has implicated Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The report contains little that's surprising, but as I mentioned in my best nonfiction books of last year, it's hard not to want to know more about a regime that could carry out such a brutal, cold-blooded murder.

If you want to read a good book about Mohammed bin Salman, Ben Hubbard's MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman has been shortlisted for the 2021 Pen/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography.

    The best books on Saudi Arabia, recommended by Madawi Al-Rasheed

  • Read
    The best books on Saudi Arabia - America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier by Robert Vitalis

    1

    America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier
    by Robert Vitalis

  • Read
    The best books on Saudi Arabia - The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent and Sectarianism by Toby Matthiesen

    2

    The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent and Sectarianism
    by Toby Matthiesen

  • Read
    The best books on Saudi Arabia - Joyriding in Riyadh: Oil, Urbanism, and Road Revolt by Pascal Menoret

    3

    Joyriding in Riyadh: Oil, Urbanism, and Road Revolt
    by Pascal Menoret

  • Read
    The best books on Saudi Arabia - Being Young, Male and Saudi: Identity and Politics in a Globalised Kingdom by Mark C Thompson

    4

    Being Young, Male and Saudi: Identity and Politics in a Globalised Kingdom
    by Mark C Thompson

  • Read
    The best books on Saudi Arabia - Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea

    5

    Girls of Riyadh
    by Rajaa Alsanea

The best books on Saudi Arabia, recommended by Madawi Al-Rasheed

Saudi Arabia is one of the most misunderstood countries on earth. Here Saudi-born anthropologist, Madawi Al-Rasheed, chooses five books to help understand the country, its society and the very modern challenges it faces.

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand interviews, or five thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

Newsletter Contact us Privacy Policy Terms of Service

© Five Books 2021