Yaroslav Trofimov, The Siege of Mecca: The 1979 Uprising at Islam's Holiest Shrine (New York, Anchor Books, 2008), pp. 301. The Siege of Mecca, a book written by the author Yaroslav Trofinmov, who was a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, is an exciting historical account of the events that took place in the holy city of Mecca, which resulted in the capture of the Grand Mosque of Mecca. He interviewed many Saudis who preferred to remain anonymous, he encouraged French adventurers to speak, and used the Freedom of Information Act to extract American documents, including the diary of a Saudi ambassador, John C. West . It is one of the least understood events in the modern Islamic world. The attack was known as "the first jihad operation of modern times." The men who invaded and seized the mosque aim to reverse the course of world history, starting a world war that would lead to total victory for Islam. This takeover was against the Saudi monarchy and the ruling royal families of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was an isolated country that only received its income from believers who went there every year to pray. After the discovery of oil in the 1930s, Saudi Arabia was catapulted into the global spotlight and led it to become a wealthy country. The Saudi forces were under fragmented leadership and were doomed to failure and capitulated in the face of several ambushes. This arrest of the Grand Mosque horrified and dismayed the Islamic world as hundreds and thousands of believers were taken prisoner and hundreds of soldiers and detainees were caught in the crossfire and killed during the siege. . The siege ended two weeks after it began. This attack led the Saudi state to adopt stricter influence over other Islamist groups as well as strategic influence. The seizure of the Grand Mosque mortified the Saudi regime. The rulers of the kingdom initially decided not to acknowledge that this had happened. And later he tried to downplay its importance. In conclusion, the siege of the Grand Mosque was influential in many ways. They have contributed to improving Saudi society. Works Cited Lippman, Thomas W. “A Missing Link in the Chain of Terror.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, October 21, 2007. Web. April 29, 2014. Rabinowitz, Beila. “AUTUMN 2008 • VOLUME XV: NUMBER 4.” Review of the siege of Mecca: the forgotten uprising at Islam's holiest shrine and the birth of Al-Qaeda. NP, 2008. Web. April 29, 2014. “The Siege of Mecca.” The Book. Np, and Web. April 29, 2014. “Summary and Reviews of the Siege of Mecca.” » BookBrowse.com. Np, and Web. April 29. 2014.