Crude Oil, Crude Money: Aristotle Onassis, Saudi Arabia, and the CIA

Thomas Lippman, who has spent a lifetime as a journalist and analyst in the Middle East, delivers a revealing and absorbing story - much of it based on recently declassified CIA files. Before MBS, before 9/11, before global warming, before OPEC, the western powers perceived of the Soviet Union and Arab nationalists led by Nasser as existential threats to the flow of oil to post-war Europe and Asia. In such a world, opportunists like Aristotle Onassis could not be allowed to disrupt the growing inter-dependence of the sheikdoms of the Persian Gulf and the oil concessions held by the oil patch titans, the Seven Sisters. 'Crude Oil, Crude Money' is the kind of fact-based narrative that will make serious readers leave novels on their bed stand. In places like Aspen, Bermuda, Dubai, Martha's Vineyard and Sochi, Lippman's true tale will be read this summer by policy makers and one-percenters as the Persian Gulf comes back to a full boil.

Up front: Tom and I were colleagues and friends at The New York Times and The Washington Post and we remain friends. I therefore know that he is a meticulously thorough and balanced reporter and excellent writer and it again comes out in this heavily researched and beautifully crafted study of the dynamics related to the kingdom that floats on oil. It should be required reading for everyone in the government and business who has a professional interest in the kingdom and the area and for scholars and others who want to gain knowledge about it for sheer pleasure.