A couple of years ago, I got interested in the economics of oil while on an assignment for The Financial Express. What started off as a passing interest has over the years evolved into a fascination for the Middle East -- Saudi Arabia in particular. What an amazing part of the world this is! The interplay in a society grappling with modernity on the one hand and deeply conservative religious beliefs on the other hand is, to say the least, amazing. I believe the upheavals Saudi Arabia is going through now will impact each one of us, wherever we are. Which is why, Robert Baer's article on The House of Saud makes for mandatory reading. First
published in The Atlantic Monthly, it forms the crux for Baer's Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude. There's an equally interesting interview with the writer on the book and the future of Saudi Arabia on Salon.