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The Oil Kings

How the US, Iran and Saudi-Arabia Changed the Balance of Power in the Middle East

Published by Oneworld Publications
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

Oil Kings offers the first inside look at how an oil crisis was manipulated by Alan Greenspan, Donald Rumsfeld, and President Ford (hoping to secure his re-election), helping to precipitate the fall of the Shah of Iran in 1979. Andrew Scott Cooper reveals the fatal struggle between the "oil kings", both Middle-Eastern and American, as they jockeyed for power, playing games that led directly to the rise of Iran's radical anti-American theocracy, which still exists today. An intrepid investigative reporter, Andrew Scott Cooper is the first to access newly declassified papers, and to interview key people who formulated US foreign poilicy in that period. Carefully connecting up the dots, he brilliantly reconstructs the history of that vexed decade when the modern world was changed forever.

About The Author

Andrew Scott Cooper has worked for the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Working Assets, and other nonprofit organisations. His journalistic career has taken him to the New York Times, Washington Post, and The Economist, amongst others.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Oneworld Publications (September 1, 2011)
  • Length: 552 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781851688692

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Raves and Reviews

"A revelatory, impressive debut."

– Kirkus Reviews

"Scintillating diplomatic history… Cooper gives us both a vivid study in sycophancy and backstabbing and a shrewd critique of Kissingerian geo-strategy."

– Publishers Weekly

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