In 1982, Saudi Arabia had a budget surplus of $140 billion. By 1997, it is expected to have a deficit of over $100 billion. How did one of the richest nations in the world suddenly become so poor? What will happen if the Saudi government collapses? What are the prospects of an anti-Western Islamic revolution? What does this mean to the countries - especially the United States - that are dependent on the continuous flow of inexpensive Saudi oil? Said Aburish, a renowned author and journalist, provides disturbing answers to these and many other questions. He shows how the Saudi government, unable to pay off its opponents, will become crippled, grow radically unpopular and fall into turmoil. The outcome will be a huge increase in the price of oil, a Muslim-West confrontation and the possibility of a full-scale war.