The House of Saud; The Kingdom

The House of Saud
By David Holden and Richard Johns
Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1982, 569 pp.

The Kingdom
By Robert Lacey
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982, 656 pp.
Two popular works telling the increasingly familiar story of the exploits of Ibn Saud, the coming of ARAMCO and oil wealth, and the cautious assumption by Riyadh of a key role in Middle East and world affairs. Holden and Johns, British journalists, have produced the more solid work although it is overladen with detail. Lacey is primarily a storyteller. His book is easy to read and awash with local color and anecdotes, mainly about the innumerable royal princes.