Written by Stegner in the late 1950s the book was originally serialized in fourteen parts in the magazine Saudi Aramco World in 1970–71 and later published in Beirut Lebanon in 1971 in a limited press run.

In 2005, Selwa Press asked Aramco for permission to license this work and present it as an illustrated, fully annotated edition that was released in hardcover in September 2007, the first time it was published in the US.

The 1930s Kingdom of Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud was a conservative country skeptical of outsiders and the homeland of Islam's main pilgrimage sites and holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Following several negotiations outlined in Stegner's book and especially with the help of ex-English intelligence officer and Muslim convert St. John Philby the American company and the Saudi King agreed to partner.

's new introduction officials at the company were hesitant to publish the manuscript due to the political situation in the Middle East with the nationalization of the Suez Canal and the pan-Arabism of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt.

The book was released worldwide in September 2007 with additional annotations, a bibliography, an introduction by author and journalist Thomas Lippman and unreleased photographs.