Barely forty years ago, Abu Dhabi was a fishing village on the Arabian Gulf. Now the capital of the United Arab Emirates, its citizens are each worth $17 million, it holds major stakes in Western economies, and has money to burn.
In this timely, revealing and evocative portrait of a global player, Jo Tatchell traces the emirate's dramatic development and the sometimes ruinous effect of extreme wealth on its people and their desert culture. And as its rulers fund another giant leap forward, she probes behind the official facade to examine whether this secretive and controlled society can realise its breathtaking plans to transform relations between East and West.

A timely and fascinating portrait of Abu Dhabi - virtually unheard of a decade ago but now a major world player with a potentially vital role to play in relations between Islam and the West.

About the Author
Jo Tatchell is a journalist who writes on Middle Eastern culture for UK and US media including the Guardian. Her first book, NABEEL'S SONG, was published by Sceptre in 2006 and was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award.

Reviews
Unusually engaging...a compelling read * Sunday Telegraph *
A welcome addition to the short list of books on Abu Dhabi...Engagingly written and sympathetic * Guardian *
This is a place we need to know more about, and Tatchell here provides a smart, well-informed and flavorsome guide...the best thing I've read on the Gulf Coast boom town to date...it leaves you feeling you have come to grips with the realities of a land steeped in fable. The contradictions of its Islamic culture emerge starkly. * George Walden, Bloomberg News *



Book Information
ISBN 9780340953402
Author Jo Tatchell
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Sceptre
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Weight(grams) 244g
Dimensions(mm) 200mm * 130mm * 19mm