Saudi Arabia is a focal point of the entire world because it is home to two of Islam's most holy sites: Mecca and Medina, as well as the repository of at least one-quarter of the world's oil reserves. The country itself, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the home to a relatively small population of 20,000,000. Its government walks a fine line between trying to please the turbulent Arab world, including its own people, and the powerful non-Arab world ready to go to war for access to its oil. This book brings together background information, timely analyses and a selective bibliography.