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

by Karen Elliott House

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063390355
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/08/2025
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Karen Elliott House is a former executive of Dow Jones & Company, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, and former chair of the Rand Corp. She is also the author of On Saudi Arabia: It’s People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines—and Future. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Editorial 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

"As they ponder their next moves, diplomats and policymakers will be turning to Ms. House’s lively and deeply sourced account to better understand Saudi Arabia’s leader. The rest of us, from seasoned Middle East experts to casual readers, will be entertained and instructed by this comprehensive overview of the kingdom and its leader." — Wall Street Journal

"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

From the Publisher

2025-05-15
Longtime journalist House draws on 40 years of travels to Saudi Arabia to present a portrait of a nation transforming, for good and ill.

“Today’s Saudi Arabia is literally unrecognizable from that of 2016,” writes House, adding, “No country has undergone such dramatic change in so short a time.” This is largely due to Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the crown prince and true power behind the throne of his father, the aged King Salman. Though callow in youth—House recounts his buying a Lamborghini while still in high school and immediately wrecking it—MBS, as he’s shorthanded throughout, emerged as a serious man intent on reforms that will lead, among other things, to Saudi Arabia’s joining the world’s top 10 economies. One way to do that is to diversify the economy beyond oil, and this is happening. More profound changes have come in social matters: MBS has steeply curtailed the powers of the feared religious police, relaxed countless restrictions on women, and, born in 1985, sidelined much of the former gerontocracy. These changes have in turn come with a cost, as House writes, for MBS has jailed thousands of Saudis, some for corruption but many for political reasons. House, who has long had access to MBS, is generally admiring but far from uncritical: She notes that one of the victims of the new government’s repression was the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, brutally murdered by Saudi agents in Istanbul, possibly at MBS’s behest, direct or not. Somewhat to his credit, House adds that “while denying any prior knowledge, he has acknowledged his responsibility.” Regardless, MBS enjoys great popularity at home and general respect from abroad, even as “he already sees himself as an historic figure, a leader not only transforming Saudi Arabia but impacting the world with his big dreams and bold intentions.”

A well-crafted key to understanding a central player in world politics.

Kirkus Reviews