Castles in the Sand

<p> Abu Dhabi--an obscure Middle Eastern principality that happens to be the richest city in the world. This book tells the story of Abu Dhabi's ambitions to transform itself from a sleepy sheikhdom into a thriving international metropolis and a hub of business and leisure. It traces Abu Dhabi's boom years from 2009 to 2011 from the perspective of a Westerner working for the Urban Planning Council the government agency that planned and coordinated all of the massive development activity.</p><p> <I>Castles in the Sand</I> explores the drastic changes in Abu Dhabi's built environment where entire islands are forested with skyscrapers and billions of dollars in infrastructure are spent on a whim--while recounting the disorienting experience of an outsider encountering a society in which foreigners outnumber locals nine to one and modernity clashes head-on with centuries of embedded tradition. General readers will find a broad introduction to Abu Dhabi and architects and planners will gain a firsthand glimpse inside an unprecedented experiment in city-building.</p>