Lord of Arabia, Ibn Saud: An Intimate Study of a King

London: Arthur Barker, 1934. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. A classic biography of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. The book is still in print and the current publisher describes the book in the following terms:

"Lord of Arabia is the famous biography of Ibn Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, who continues to cast a shadow over the Middle East. In this important study, the author reveals many of the family traditions and deeply-held principles that form the unwritten foundation of present-day Saudi Arabia and its neighbors.... The book ably recreates the king's life through key principle first-hand authorities. Lord of Arabia not only tracks the life of this extraordinary man, but also gives rare insights into both past and present Middle Eastern conditions and its culture."

306 pages. Halftone portrait of Ibn Saud as a frontispiece. First edition (first printing, stating "First published . . 1934" on the copyright page). A very good or better copy in a very good dust jacket that has shallow chipping at the top of the spine. Very scarce in this condition. This copy belonged to the Pulitzer Prize- and Academy Award-winning novelist Larry McMurtry, with his stirrup brand bookplate mounted to the inside front cover (over the printed map endpapers) and a previous owner's name dated 1935.