The Hashemite Kingdom of the Hijaz in Arabia, played a crucial role in modern Middle Eastern history from its founding in 1916 until its demise in 1925. It was the first Arab country to gain independence from the Ottoman Empire, and it's rulers led the Arab Revolt of "Lawrence of Arabia" fame. The holy cities of Mecca and Medina flourished under its control and it was praised as a model of justice and a beacon of hope for the Muslim world. Yet for all its significance, the Kingdom has received little attention from historians.

In The Rise and Fall of the Hashemite Kingdom we learn how the Hijaz wrested its independence from the Ottoman Empire in the storied "Revolt in the Desert" and was celebrated by journalists and world leaders alike. But Teitlebaum is most concerned with the state's ultimate failure Using original sources, he shows how the kingdom was plagued by civil conflict between the Hashemite rulers (the ancestors of the current king of Jordan) and the influential Saudi family, and subject to the whims of Britain and the great powers of Europe.

In engaging prose, Teitelbaum tells a story of revolt, civil war, colonialism, political Islam, and revolutionary misrule that mirrors conflicts in the Middle East of today.