Saudi Arabia (Major Nations of the Modern Middle East Series)

Saudi Arabia is a young kingdom with an ancient legacy. King Abd al-Aziz brought the divided land into one entity in 1932. His family, the Al-Saud, named the country and still rules it today.

Every year millions of Muslims travel across the Saudi Arabian border to Mecca, the sacred city of Islam and the birthplace of its holy prophet, Muhammad. As custodian of key Islamic traditions, Saudi Arabia enjoys a leading status among its Muslim neighbors.

But as the world's largest single…