Iffat al Thunayan: An Arabian Queen

This is the only biography of Iffat al-Thunayan, the wife of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. The author Dr. Kechichian is a Senior Fellow at the King Faysal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. so the book has the approval of Iffat's family. Iffat was a towering figure in Saudi Arabia who pioneered women's education, women's philanthropy and the idea of modernizing Saudi Arabia alongside her husband. Her husband was assassinated by a nephew in 1975, and at that point Saudi Arabia began to turn inward and take a much more cautious view of modernization, which has led to many negative societal consequences (in this reviewer's opinion). Despite her husband's death, she kept working toward her goals and in her last years of life founded Effat College (now University) an English language western-modeled curriculum school for women. It was the first private college for women in Saudi Arabia. It is true there is not a single photograph of her in the book, in keeping with the family's wish to keep her images private. But she is described, and you can see her in the photos of her children. Anecdotes about Effat and her visionary leadership still circulate in Saudi Arabia, and Kechichian's book captures many of them. The most precious are recollections of her by her own children and grandchildren. If you really want to understand the history of Saudi Arabia in the second half of the 20th Century, this book should be mandatory. To ignore the impact that Effat had on the Kingdom is to get only half the story, at best. The four star rating is due to lengthy side trips the author may have had to make. Hopefully one day images of her will surface.

Good research but not all that interesting. The book focuses on the role of this Arabian princess, which was substantial, but is much weaker on the Thunayan branch of Al Saud. The latter topic would have been a much more meaningful contribution to the body of knowledge on Saudi Arabia.

What an amazing woman. I loved the book

Excellent.