A Financial Times Book Best Book of the Year 2020

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year 2020

The impressive, unknown story of how the mysterious and daring young leader of Saudi Arabia rose to power.

Even in his youth as a prince among thousands of princes, Mohammed bin Salman harbored clear ambitions. He wanted power – enough to reshape his ultra-conservative, isolated Islamic kingdom.

When his elderly father ascended the throne in 2015, MBS seized his opportunity. As an active ruler, he made seismic changes, worked tirelessly to reform the kingdom’s economy, loosen the strict Islamic social codes, and confront neighboring enemies, primarily Iran. His vision initially won supporters both domestically and abroad, as he convinced other countries that the time had come to invest in Saudi Arabia. However, over time, the allure of the young reformer has worn thin, leaving many to wonder if MBS is truly an aspiring dictator, whose inexperience and hasty decisions are destabilizing the world's most fragile region.

Based on years of reporting and hundreds of covert interviews, MBS provides new insights into Saudi Arabia's disastrous military intervention in Yemen, the bizarre detention of the Lebanese prime minister, the sudden arrest of hundreds of princes and businessmen, as well as the biggest scandal of the young prince’s rise: the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi state officials linked to MBS – a crime that shocked the world.

A riveting portrait of a determined autocrat on the rise, MBS asks how the actions and obsessions of one man are roiling the Middle East.