[domnit]

Thanks for the reply, avinashv--I almost took the article at face value. I should know by now to be wary of "Top n Xs" articles. Good to have both sides, anyhow.

George Saunders has a great study of Dubai in his essay collection, the Braindead Megaphone. He mostly focuses on the exaggerated class division between guest workers and the rich natives. The book is worth picking up for the other essays, too, but certainly if you're interested in an intelligent Western perspective on Dubai. He was there as a tourist and journalist, not a resident, though.