Just a dusty fishing village in the 1950s, Dubai has grown faster than any other city in the world to become a glittering mecca for investors and pleasure-seekers, the repository of vast foreign investments, and a bellwether for the entire economy. In this compelling new book, Jim Krane charts the history of Dubai from its earliest days, considers the influence of the family who has ruled it since the nineteenth century, and looks at the effect of the global economic downturn on a place that many tout as a blueprint for a more stable Middle East.