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The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia by Karen Elliott House

September 13, 2025 10:44 AM | Anonymous
Disclaimer: Articles are chosen for relevance and circulated for information only. Views expressed are those of the respective journalists / authors. Republication does not infer endorsement.

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2018. Photo: GIUSEPPE CACACE/Getty Images

Book Review:
The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia
by Karen Elliott House

July 8, 2025
Publisher: Harper

The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia
by Karen Elliott House

 
Based on exclusive interviews, an eye-opening biography of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), head of the House of Saud, the calculating ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a central Middle East power broker.

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and former Wall Street Journal publisher, Karen House has gained unprecedented insights into Saudi Arabia and its controversial leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman through her more than forty years of experience covering the Arab kingdom.

House reveals a leader who like Peter the Great, is a reformer determined to modernize his kingdom but also an autocrat who jails political opponents and rival princes to assure his grip on power. Drawing on extensive interviews with the Crown Prince, his royal relatives, and his inner ring of advisors, The Man Who Would Be King explains in full what shaped the man who is reshaping Saudi Arabia.

Drawing on fresh, headline-making reporting, House balances both sides of this complex ruler. We are introduced to MBS the visionary, who has ushered in reforms for women to participate more equitably, encouraged tourism to the Kingdom, and placed long term bets on green energy and trillion dollar mega-projects like The Line, a hundred-mile-long enclosed futuristic city in the desert that will be run by AI. And we meet MBS the Machiavellian prince, widely accused of having Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi murdered, and of sports washing the kingdom's reputation by investing billions in teams globally, from Premiere League soccer to the LIV (liv) golf tour to the World Cup which the Kingdom will host in 2034.

The Man Who Would Be King reveals MBS in all his complexities, from his rise to power and his vision for the future of his Kingdom, to his ruthless maneuvers to project power—a shrewd broker working to seal a viable deal with Israel and bring peace to Gaza while he cuts oil supplies to manipulate Western politics. It is an unprecedent and much needed in-depth portrait of the leader who, at only thirty-nine, will be a major player on the world stage for the next half century.


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Reviews:

"Longtime journalist House draws on 40 years of travels to Saudi Arabia to present a portrait of a nation transforming, for good and ill. . . . A well-crafted key to understanding a central player in world politics." — Kirkus Reviews

"An insider's insights into a transformative leader who may turn out to be the next Lee Kuan Yew—or the next Gorbachev?" — Graham T. Allison, author of Destined for War

"Karen Elliott House brings her decades of experience and deep personal relationships within Saudi Arabia to offer her reader a compelling, balanced view of where the Kingdom stands today. Offering a portrait of the Crown Prince that few could paint, Elliott House captures both the immense ambition driving Mohammed bin Salman’s vision for Saudi Arabia and the significant challenges facing its realization. A compelling read for those interested in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, the evolution of religion and society in the Arab world, the global energy transition, and the exercise of geopolitical power in a turbulent age." — Meghan O'Sullivan, Former Deputy National Security Adviser on Iraq and Afghanistan

"Karen House understands the history, culture, and society of Saudi Arabia the way few outsiders can. Based on a lifetime of travels and reporting inside the Kingdom, The Man Who Would Be King chronicles the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his singular quest to turn Saudi Arabia into a global powerhouse. Any American who wants to preserve and strengthen our 80-year partnership with Saudi Arabia should read this book." — Senator Tom Cotton, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seven Things You Can't Say About China

"In The Man Who Would Be King, Karen House has given us an exclusive view into the Saudi royal family and unique insight into the person who is transforming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Her compelling and accessible portrait of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the man, learning the history of his ascent to power, and anticipating how he might use that power to influence the history of the Kingdom and the Middle East." — H.R. McMaster, New York Times bestselling author of Dereliction of Duty, Battlegrounds, and At War with Ourselves

"Karen House has combined decades of experience in Saudi Arabia with rare access to its current leadership in order to provide us with an unmatched analysis of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and where he is taking his country." — David H. Rundell, author of Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads

"Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Karen Elliott House provides fascinating insights into the actions and vision of Mohammed Bin Salman, the ruler of Saudi Arabia, and a major player in the Middle East. Her book, The Man Who Would Be King, covers the spectrum from the crown prince’s climb to absolute power to the murder of journalist Khashoggi to MBS’s Vision 2030 plan for transforming his country, particularly the role of women. This in-depth analysis is a 'must read' for all who want to better understand Saudi Arabia and its dynamic young leader." — Senator Susan Collins, member of the Senate Intelligence Committee

 
See also:

The Man Who Would Be King as reviewed by Joe Zacks for The Cipher Brief -  August 19, 2025 

Joe Zacks is the Deputy Assistant Director of the CIA for Counterterrorism. He has previously served as the Agency’s Chief Learning Officer and the CIA’s Chief of Operations for Counterterrorism. He has served a number of times as a Chief of Station to include one of CIA’s flagship station’s in South Asia. Prior to joining the CIA, Joe served a full career of over 21 years as an officer in the U.S. Army.

The Man Who Would Be King - as reviewed by Kirkus Review -  May 15, 2025

The Man Who Would Be King as reviewed by Walter Russell Mead for The Wall Street Journal -  July 3, 2025

About the book: 
The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia
by Karen Elliott House
Harper - 304 pages 14.99 (Kindle)
Publication Date: July 8, 2025


About the Author: Karen Elliott House
 

 Karen Elliott House served as the publisher of The Wall Street Journal from 2002 until her retirement in 2006. She also held various roles throughout a 32-year career at Dow Jones & Company, most recently as senior vice president and a member of the company's executive committee. She is a broadly experienced business executive with particular knowledge and expertise in international affairs. Currently, House is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, as well as the author of On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines, and Future (Knopf, 2012).

As part of her career with Dow Jones, House served as foreign editor, diplomatic correspondent, and energy correspondent. Her journalism awards include a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for coverage of the Middle East (1984), two Overseas Press Club awards for coverage of the Middle East and of Islam, and the Edwin M. Hood Award for Excellence in Diplomatic Reporting for a series on Saudi Arabia (1982). In both her news and business roles, House interviewed world leaders including, Saddam Hussein, Lee Kwan Yew, Vladimir Putin, Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, and Yasser Arafat, among many others.

House has appeared frequently on television over the past three decades including on Washington Week in Review, Meet the Press, and Face the Nation, and more recently has been featured on PBS, Fox, CNN, and CNBC as an expert on international relations.

House serves multiple nonprofit boards including the Rand Corporation, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Asia Society, the German-American Council, and Boston University, and is also a member of the advisory board of the College of Communication at the University of Texas.

House is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and has studied and taught at Harvard University's Institute of Politics. House holds honorary degrees from Boston University and Lafayette College and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. House also received the honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy in 2013.

Biography Credit:  Pepperdine

À propos du livre :
L'homme qui voulait être roi : Mohammed ben Salmane et la transformation de l'Arabie saoudite
par Karen Elliott House
Harper - 304 pages 14,99 $ (Kindle)
Date de publication : 8 juillet 2025


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