If not after the death of Abdullah, then soon the House of Saud must move to the next generation. That will let loose all of Abdul Aziz’s fears about family conflict. Who will lead this next generation? Where will his legitimacy come from, since the Wahhabi ulema are now seen as servants of the state, not defenders of the faith? How strong is the tribal system after four decades of rapid development? How willing are the Al Sauds to open up the political and economic system in which they have always operated as the state itself? How strong are those who trace their theology back to the Ikhwan?

In 1979, the heirs of Abdul Aziz faced their own Ikhwan revolt when religious militants seized the Grand Mosque at Mecca. Another modern rendition of the Ikhwan came to life on September 11, 2001, when fifteen of the nineteen hijackers who brought down the towers of New York’s World Trade Center and hit the Pentagon were Saudis striking the protectors of the House of Saud. Others have inflicted and continue to plot acts of terrorism against the kingdom and its ruling family.

The heirs of Abdul Aziz face their founding father’s same imperative to balance internal pressures against external forces. The long-standing defense alliance with the United States rid Saudi Arabia of the threat of Saddam Hussein in 1990–1991, but the presence of American forces in the kingdom also required that the House of Saud lessen its security dependence on its long-time protector. In response to internal opposition, American forces have been pushed farther beyond the horizon and out of sight of those who adhere to strict Wahhabism. With Iraq removed as a counterbalance to Iran by the 2003 American invasion, the House of Saud now also faces the threat of Shia Iran, whose population is three times that of Saudi Arabia. The Islamic Republic has ties to the Shia in the kingdom’s eastern province and an ideology that calls into question the whole concept of monarchy in a Muslim state.

To grasp the character of Saudi Arabia and what the future might hold for it, any thinking Westerner must understand Abdul Aziz. Darlow and Bray have brought him to life for those who perhaps know the name Ibn Saud but not the man who forged one of the pivotal countries in the world today out of the rock and sand of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia’s importance is not only due to its oil; the kingdom’s history as the birthplace of Islam and its geographical position astride so many of the world’s major trade and communications routes render the Saudi Arabia of today, unlike in the time of Abdul Aziz, a vital player in a strategic region.

Sandra Mackey is the author of The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom (W. W. Norton, 2002) as well as other works on Middle East politics and culture. Her most recent book is Mirror of the Arab World: Lebanon in Conflict (W. W. Norton, 2008).