- Did you know that aSaudi woman was rated more powerful than Hillary Clinton by Fortune magazine in2017 and that a Saudi university enrolls more than 60,000 female students, morethan any other university in the world?
- Would you believe that Muslims are allowedto drink wine and other alcoholic beverages, provided they don't get drunk andthat they can eat pork in order to avert starvation?
- Would it surprise you tolearn that a Saudi pediatric surgeon and his team have performed 42 successfulseparations of conjoined twins from 19 countries?
These are some of thesurprising facts revealed in the seventeen essays of this collection,Â
SaudiArabia: Reflections of an American. On the other hand, Ronald W. Kenyon recounts tales of murder, prostitution, beheading, blood money and thefollies and foibles of expatriates from many countries who come to SaudiArabia with only one goal: to make as much money as possible as fast aspossible. The author alsodiscloses the personal counter-terrorism plan he devised after the jihadiattacks that took place a mile from where he lived. Several essays evokinghistorical events and a number of sidebars profiling outstanding Saudi women,men and institutions add valuable context. The author, who spent nine years in SaudiArabia, provides lively accounts of characters you will never forget in a bookthat will appeal not only to readers who have lived in the Middle East, butarmchair travelers and those simply curious about Saudi Arabia and the peoplewho live and work there. Saudi Arabia: Reflections of an American isa timely and insightful look at a country increasingly in the limelight. TABLE OF CONTENTSÂ
PROLOGUE: Ahlan wa sahlanÂ
1. SHE WANTED TO LEARN ARAMAICÂ
2. HOLLYWOODÂ
3. A NIGHT AND A DAY IN MAYÂ
4. THE SLASHED PAINTINGSÂ
5. ABDULLAH EVANSÂ
6. ALCOHOL AND PORKÂ
7. THE PARACHUTE RIGGERÂ
8. MONEY VOLCANOSÂ
9. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT MEETS KING ABDULAZIZÂ
10. THE MALE SEX SLAVE: A PARABLEÂ
11. CHOP-CHOP SQUAREÂ
12. A MISSION TO ASIRÂ
13. LET'S GET MARRIEDÂ
14. JETSÂ
15. THE PINOY LOTTERYÂ
16. THREE WOMEN, THREE BLOGS, ONE DESIREÂ
17. CANINES AND FELINESÂ
EPILOGUE: Fi aman AllahÂ
SIDEBARSÂ
Aramco WorldÂ
Ahmed AbodehmanÂ
Lubna Suliman OlayanÂ
Hanadi Zakaria al-Hindi PrincessÂ
Noura bint Abdul Rahman UniversityÂ
Haifa al-MansourÂ
Dr. Abdullah al-RabeeahÂ
Ali al-Naimi
Â
Note: A previous edition of his book, entitled Saudi Stories: Reflections of an American, has been retired and is no longer available. The entire contents of that book have been reissued under a new title, Saudi Arabia: Reflections of an American. The purpose of this change was to enable the book to become more easily located to those wishing to find books about Saudi Arabia using the Amazon.com search engine.--The author
