The discovery of oil completely transformed the Gulf, making it one of the richest places on earth. Yet the reality of life in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates remains a mystery to most Westerners who see only distorted images of harems, oil rigs and Cadillacs. In The Gulf, John Bulloch offers a wide ranging analysis of the region past and present, and goes on to forecast what will be like in the year 2000.