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First published in 2001. The dramatic rise to power of the Sa'udi family in Central Arabia and The emergence of the country from early Moslem ways into The modern materialism of The West are vividly described in this book by a Dutch official stationed in South Arabia from 1926 to 1931 and from 1941 to 1945. This is much more than a personal memoir. Through The account of his long service in Sa'udi Arabia, the author gives the reader a unique perspective on this feudal land. The personal glimpses of Arab life the authors acquaintance with Ibn Sa'ud and St. John Philby, and his affection for The pilgrim town of Jedda, are The more interesting because he is Dutch and thus in a position to compare impartially the impact upon Arabia of the British and the Americans. The story of Ibn Sa'ud whose story this book relates, is superficially, or materially, a success story. But spiritually, as Mr Van der Meulen views it. it has its bitter aspect, as The King began to realise before he died.