America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier Book

Examination of U.S.-Saudi relations, the development of the oil frontier, and the enduring legacy of racial segregation at the Aramco camps.

Library Journal

In today's discussions of the economic and geopolitical issues involving oil, separating fact from myth can be difficult. The authors of these books seek to debunk mythologies they perceive to be at play. Maugeri (group senior vice president, corporate strategies and planning, Eni, Italy) sets out to debunk petro-pessimists who argue that the age of oil is coming to an end. First, he recounts the history of oil discovery and production, relying on existing research, to show how people have feared the end of oil before and have always been wrong. There is not much here that one couldn't find in Daniel Yergin's The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power. Then he looks at contemporary issues to show how the fears raised today about oil shortages are unfounded. This section is more engaging, as Maugeri leverages his insider's knowledge to cast doubt on those who argue that oil reserves are dwindling or that geopolitical concerns have rendered the future of oil production too unreliable to be viable. Maugeri's approach is not academic, thus contrasting significantly with that of Vitalis (political science, Univ. of Pennsylvania; When Capitalists Collide: Business Conflict and the End of Empire in Egypt). Vitalis takes a revisionist look at U.S. corporate involvement in the founding of Saudi ARAMCO (the Saudis took control of the firm in 1980) and ARAMCO's racial hierarchies, which are similar to those existing in the oil and minefields of the United States. While ostensibly writing a work of political science, Vitalis has crafted a narrative that fits in well with the recent trend of giving U.S. history international context. Both books are recommended for academic libraries, but only Maugeri's will likely be of interest to public libraries.-John Russell, Georgia State Univ. Lib., Atlanta Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.