"Caudill's book is an important and unique look into Saudi Arabia that is not available in all the previously published material on the country. I found Twilight in the Kingdom as compelling as it is informative, even for me, a Saudi journalist. What I found most interesting about Caudill's manuscript is that he breaks down, anecdote by anecdote, subject by subject, a crucial region of Saudi Arabia, and in the process leaves the reader with a more realistic view of a country that has been riddled with stereotypes, exaggerations and misconceptions. But even as he removes the layers of misconceptions, the magic of the manuscript is that he replaces them with a more accurate but equally exotic view of the country." -- Faiza Saleh Ambah, Saudi journalist and Washington Post writer "Mark Caudill's wonderful book Twilight In The Kingdom is proof that the most shocking thing a writer can do is simply tell the truth. His intelligence, patience, and indecent curiosity have given us the most closely observed, behind the scenes look at a culture that used to be obscure but is now shaping much of the world--for better or worse." -- Peter Theroux, Author, Sandstorms: Days and Nights in Arabia "Mark Caudill writes very much in the tradition of those 18th and 19th Century explorers of Arabia, but with the acuity of a seasoned political observer assessing the impact of the 21st Century on traditional ways of life. The momentum for change is building in Saudi Arabia, as it is elsewhere in the Arab world, and its potential is explosive. What Caudill is very good at because he has traveled so widely and talked with so many in Saudi Arabia is explaining the deep religious and cultural sources of this momentum. Mark Caudill is writing about Saudi Arabia, its many peoples and their customs. It is a classic traveler's tales. But he also is writing about Islam, its deep roots in the lives of Muslims and its power to challenge and change politics. Because he writes both as a believer and as a seasoned political, he offers insights that few others have." -- Michael Parks, director of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, former editor of the Los Angeles Times and former correspondent in the Middle East
Foreword by Steve Coll Acknowledgments Map of Saudi Arabia Introduction: Bricks and Mortar Chapter 1. Life and Death Marriage, Money, and Men of Modest Means Flowers for Ousman The Life of Spice Chapter 2. Holy Cities Medina Yesterday and Today The Kiswa The King's Highway The Darb Zubaydah The Mawaqeet Chapter 3. The Hajj Soup Nuts to Mecca Prepares for Pilgrims A Pilgrim's Journal Chapter 4. God and Man Magic Lawyers, Courts, and Sharia Debating Religious Freedom A Matter of Interpretation Whisperers The Hejazi Origins of Wahhabi Intolerance Chapter 5. Hinterlands How Green Is My Valley Land of Water, Fire, and Ire See Rock City Tribalism in the Asir Chapter 6. Rhyme and Reason Human Rights Notes Glossary Bibliographic Note Index
Mark A. Caudill is a 15-year U.S. Foreign Service officer who served in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 1999 to 2002. Currently he is Vice Consul, U.S. Consulate General, Istanbul, Turkey.
Essential Reading US diplomat and Muslim Mark A. Caudill went to
great lengths in Twilight in the Kingdom: Understanding the Saudis
to provide a comprehensive and balanced view of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, and the Muslim rites which guide the faithful to
perform religious oblations at Mecca. In so doing, he became one of
a select band of Westerners who have done great work in penetrating
the veil which has shrouded Arabia for centuries….Cauldill's book
is full of insights, and it is difficult to capture the breadth and
detail of his work--a compilation of reports written during his
tenure in country, with later additions--other than to say that it
would be foolhardy for an analyst to attempt to assess modern Saudi
Arabia without it.
*Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy/Special Analysis*
Active-duty FSO Mark Caudill bases Twilight in the Kingdom:
Understanding the Saudis on his own dispatches from Consulate
General Jeddah, where he served as a political officer from 1999 to
2002--in the crucial period before and after the 9/11 attacks.
Caudill's book is an important and unique look into Saudi Arabia
that is not available in all the previously published material on
the country, says Saudi journalist Faiza Saleh Ambah of this book.
A converted Muslim who could pass for Syrian, Caudill lived outside
the embassy compound, traveld widely and participated in the local
life and culture. He was rewarded with important insights into the
reality of Saudi Arabia behind the mask of official cliches
maintained by the ruling family. History will show, he believes,
that American leaders should have paid more attention to these
realities.
*Foreign Service Journal*
Caudill, a 15-year US Foreign Service officer who served in Saudi
Arabia from 1999 to 2002, offers an edited compilation of his
unclassified dispatches to Washington policymakers on the desert
kingdom. His perspective differed from many other US diplomats in
that he purposefully sought to participate in the daily lives of
the country's various strata by converting to Islam and worshipping
in mosques that variously catered to South Asian guest workers,
Yemeni and Sudanese illegal aliens, and middle class and
lower-middle class Saudi citizens, among others. From this project
comes a view that is still distinctly American in its concerns but
perhaps more nuanced and informed than if Caudill had limited his
experiences to meetings with members of the sclerotic House of
Saud, as is the case with most US government officials.
*Reference & Research Book News*
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