Arabian Jubilee

Biography & Memoir Middle Eastern History Adventure Travel Travel Memoir Colonial Studies Political Autobiography Arabian Peninsula Studies

First-edition hardcover of H. St. John Philby’s 1952 Arabian Jubilee—one of the most sought-after modern chronicles of Saudi Arabia before the oil boom. Philby, the British explorer-turned-advisor to King Abdulaziz, spent three decades criss-crossing the peninsula and here distills those years into a vivid, first-hand narrative of desert politics, tribal diplomacy, and the birth-pangs of a new kingdom. Because the text is built from diaries and field notes taken while events were still unfolding, the book reads like an insider’s diary rather than a retrospective history, giving collectors a rare “you-are-there” immediacy no later account can duplicate.

What makes this copy especially appealing is its profuse illustration: dozens of period photographs, maps, and line drawings reproduced on rich art paper, all present in the first-issue binding. Even with its ex-library history the boards remain tight and the photo plates retain their original contrast—perfect for reference or display. For researchers, the margin notes and newspaper clippings pasted in by an earlier reader now serve as accidental primary sources, offering mid-century reactions to Philby’s controversial views on Arabian unification and the role of Western powers.

Young adults and seasoned Middle-East buffs alike value Arabian Jubilee for its lucid prose and balanced perspective; Philby celebrates Bedouin culture while frankly critiquing colonial policy, a nuance rarely found in travelogues of the period. As a 1952 first printing it sits at the intersection of autobiography, political memoir, and adventure travel, making it a keystone volume for anyone building a library on Gulf history, Arab studies, or early 20th-century exploration.

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