Pages from an aide's diary

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia holds a certain fascination for Gulf-based expatriates who have never been there. What is it that really goes on in what is sometimes described as one of the most conservative countries in the world?

American paramedic Patrick (Tom) Notestine is certainly qualified to give an insider's view of the country. He worked in a major Riyadh hospital before being appointed to the medical staff of King Abdullah at the time when he was Crown Prince.

Notestine lived in the same large compound as the Crown Prince and his wives and children, and his ambulance drove about in the motorcade that accompanied the Crown Prince at all times — whether in Riyadh, Jeddah, Taif or overseas.

For much of the time he had to be less than two minutes away from the Crown Prince, which meant accompanying him to countless functions — including late-night banquets that played havoc with Notes

There was plenty of exotic foreign travel and Notestine would enjoy a first-class seat in the Crown Prince's Boeing 747 before checking into a luxury hotel.

While describing the set-up around the Crown Prince, Notestine indulges excessively in gossip about his ultimate boss.

In Nolestine's descriptions, the Crown Prince comes across as a mild-mannered leader who shows personal consideration for his staff — he asked about the well-being of Notestine's mother after the death of the author's father, for example. The Crown Prince was also much amused when he called in Notestine to sing an Iraqi love song, in Arabic.

Several foreign leaders make appearances, including the late Yasser Arafat, late Syrian president Hafez Al Assad and Libya's Colonel Gaddafi. Arafat was the author's favourite.

The early parts of the book — when Notestine was spending many of his working hours picking up the pieces after horrific road accidents — are depressing but just as fascinating as the behind-the-scenes glimpses of the corridors of power.

Notestine saw at the sharp end the consequences of bad driving and this book should be required reading for some of the worst motorists in the UAE.

But, amid all the death and destruction, there are lighter moments from Notestine's time in the emergency department, including the tale of the pet baboon that Notestine ill-advisedly bought from a local market, and which ended up travelling on the hospital bus.

The book is written in an informal, and at times, slightly blunt manner, but as a journalist and an observer of the human condition, Notestine is highly perceptive.

Some Saudis will not be particularly flattered by the way their country comes across in this warts-and-all account but it is never, ever dull.