Kings and Camels

An American in Saudi Arabia

Grant C. Butler, Grant C Butler

• Publisher: Garnet Publishing
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9781859642009
• eBook ISBN: 9781859643419
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: History

First published in 1960, "Kings and Camels" is a straightforward account of how an American went to work in Saudi Arabia and came home to America to realize how little the average American appreciated the strategic importance of the area and, more crucially still, how little he understood the people in the area. Butler presents his material in the form of an informal account of his personal experiences in the Middle East, both while he lived there, working for the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), and as a successful lecturer and writer who has returned to the area often. The book goes behind the scenes in the Arab world, and into private audience with the legendary Ibn Saud. It explains Islam, the religion of the Arabs. It introduces the reader to the desert Bedouin, and the Arab of the cities. It focuses on human interest, on the Americans who lived and worked in Saudi Arabia. Above all, the book's emphasis is on the cultivation of understanding between the American and Arab peoples. It points out how vital such understanding is to Saudi Arabia, to the Arabs themselves, and to Americans.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Praise for the First Edition
• About the Author
• Foreword
• 1 An Arab Named Sami Hussein
• 2 Islam, the Religion of Mohammed
• 3 Aramco, the Meeting of the Twain
• 4 The Bedouin of the Desert
• 5 The Modern Arab
• 6 Lion of the Desert, Ibn Saud
• 7 Training for Arabs and Americans
• 8 Vacation in Africa
• 9 America’s Awakening to the Arab World
• 10 Arab Nationalism, Zionism, and Communism
• 11 The Arab Refugees
• 12 An American Named Sami Hussein
• Selected Bibliography