The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.59 (937 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0375506144 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 496 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-01-10 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Averell Harriman, “the Harvard-trained scion of nineteenth-century robber baron Edward Harriman,” tried his hand at the business before turning to manganese mining, while Armand Hammer “became a money launderer for the Bolsheviks, sneaked cash to secret Bolshevik agents in the United States, and profited handsomely as the representative in Russia of some thirty American companies.” Hammer set the tone for the Americans who flocked to the Caspian in the first years of the Clinton presidency, which maneuvered for the construction of an east-west oil pipeline that, by reversing the old pattern of Central Asian materials going north to Russia and coming back as products for sale, “would favor the West and disfavor Russia.” Not a nice way to treat a fledgling democracy, but the oil scouts, of course, considered Russia a rival for Central-Asian resources second only to Iran, with its heartfelt and long-standing enmity toward the United States in the region and abroad. At the heart of the story is the contest to build and operate energy pipelines out of the landlocked region,
Averell Harriman, "the Harvard-trained scion of nineteenth-century robber baron Edward Harriman," tried his hand at the business before turning to manganese mining, while Armand Hammer "became a money launderer for the Bolsheviks, sneaked cash to secret Bolshevik agents in the United States, and profited handsomely as the representative in Russia of some thirty American companies." Hammer set the tone for the Americans who flocked to the Caspian in the first years of the Clinton presidency, which maneuvered for the construction of an east-west oil pipeline that, by reversing the old pattern of Central Asian materials going north to Russia and coming back as products for sale, "would favor the West and disfavor Russia." Not a nice way to treat a fledgling democracy, but the oil scouts, of course, c
Steve LeVine was a foreign correspondent for eighteen years, posted in the Soviet Union, Pakistan, and the Philippines, reporting for The Wall StreetJournal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Financial Times, and Newsweek. He lives in Dallas.
Well balanced It is usually difficult task to describe certain era in a way that is complete, factually accurate and properly put into big picture context, yet remains easy to read. It is equally difficult to choose proper places to insert illustrative small stories and examples to explain situation and characters, yet not to diverge too much from the main story line. Steve Levine finds proper balance in all those respects. That is why the book is fantastic read.The book also greatly illustrates how big deals are being done in a region with abundance of strategically important commodity,. "Enjoyable oil history" according to rvarghese. A terrific read which leaves the reader scratching his head at some points wondering how any of these deals ever got done in the Caspian region. Particularly interesting is the nexus of oil and geopolitical interests which shape many of the book's main events. Well worth a read.. Masterfully Written History of the Caspian Sea! Mr. LeVine has done a truly exceptional job of documenting decades of oil & gas pursuits in the Caspian Sea. As one of the people mentioned in this book, I can attest to the accuracy of this highly detailed account of what actually happened back in the 90's, as so many international oil players descended on the Central Asian Caspian nations and Russia, looking for high stakes oil & gas exploration, production and pipeline deals. Unscrupulous "middlemen" successfully "wedged" themselves into many of the deals, and outsmarted some of the industry's brightest players. This boo