Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate

Simply put, this book provides the missing perspective which explains why Texans such as Lyndon Johnson, Tom DeLay, and the Bushes have a sense of entitlement to do as they please with the world's petroleum reserves. Texas pioneered the methods for controling market price of petroleum by setting up a mechanism which brought order to the chaotic Texas oil fields during the boom period in the 20's through 50's. The man who established OPEC modeled OPEC after that Texan invention. The Texans, once they had tasted the power of control over Texas petroleum, couldn't then relinquish the love of control when it came to world petroleum supplies once the Texas reserves ran down. Now we're experiencing WWIII which is a struggle for control of the world's proven accessible reserves in Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula disguised as a "war on terror". The people have been fooled into fighting this resource war by the most unprincipled group of leaders in our history. But now many are questioning the real reasons we are in Iraq and Central Asia.

A very well written and documented account of how the Texas Oil and Defense Industry have developed throughout history. A must read for anyone interested in how the U.S. and its policies, and in particular Texas business and businessmen, have contributed to our current geo-political environment with respect to the Middle East and OPEC. This book details many years of influence and power struggles which have created our government's policies to control the world's oil and the oil economies.

I'm not normally a big reader of either business (they tend to be boring) or political books (they tend towards the hysterical... and I don't mean funny). I picked up Cronies because I loved this author's amusing (yes funny) yet informative book, Pipe Dreams, about the implosion of Enron. I was curious to see what an author who could make a page-turner out of the Enron scandal could do with the ripe-for-humor landscape of American politics. And Cronies did not disappoint. Written with a wry and engaging tone the revelations in Cronies are, however, anything but funny. This book masterfully weaves together the ways in which Texas oil, Texas money, and Texas power have influenced American politics yesterday, today and if we're not careful, tomorrow. Call me naïve, but I was surprised (okay, shocked) at the conflicts of interest running rampant from top down in the Bush Administration. Of course, not every appearance of impropriety amounts to an actual conflict of interest but, as Bryce points out, the extreme secrecy employed by the Administration to keep We The People from judging whether there is a conflict of interest or not is disturbing. For example, James Baker III is both the "Iraq debt czar" and also deemed exempt by the White House from publicly disclosing the specifics of his business dealings -- known to include vast oil interests. Through well documented research and citing numerous examples, Cronies demonstrates how the lines between Government, Military and Private (Oil) Industry are becoming increasingly blurred... so much so that we're left wondering who really is benefiting from current US foreign/oil policies. But we're not really left wondering... Bryce explains it: this is government by a few for a few.

Very well done! This book shines the spotlight on perhaps the largest, most influential power cabal in the country, and possibly the world. If you were ever curious about why so many Texas based corporations loom so large within the sphere of US government, particularly from the 1930's to the present, this book will provide you with the answers. The literal melding of private defense related corporations into the government has produced a cash bonanza that has created billionaires who now get to determine the most critical aspects of US government policy. The author examines the rise of companies like Halliburton and Brown & Root, as well as the numerous oil companies, law firms, and political crony networks that provide the cash and clout to maintain the Texas based plutocracy which holds significant control over the rest of the country. Among other things, Bryce explores connections between the crony network and the Savings & Loan scandal, oil politics of the Middle East, both Presidents Bush, President Johnson, various congressional legislators, Enron, James Baker, Dick Cheney, and the usual cast of big oilmen. This book is for anyone who wants to know who holds the real power in this country, and how it got that way. This one should come with a bright red label that says "READ BEFORE THE ELECTION!"

Having already written on the Enron scandal, Robert Byrce is highly qualified to explore the growth of frighteningly close relations between energy companies and state and national government. Providing more depth and context than most exposures of government corruption, Bryce traces these relationships back to the East Texas Oil Wars of the 1930s, as he finds disturbing precedents for current global policy in then-govenor Ross Sterling's actions and the ascendancy of the Texas Railroad Commission. For me, having spent the last twelve years in Texas, the book was revelatory, exposing how the cultural background, greed, and personal relationships of Texas polticians, oilmen, and military contractors have been an important force in American politics for much of the twentieth century and how they now effectually dominate it. A long history of government tax breaks and subsidies for big energy donors tell a sorry tale that spares neither Democrats nor Republicans, and all the while the environment gets destroyed, most taxpayers get shafted deeper than the Daisy Bradford no. 3, social services and civil liberties get curtailed, and blankets of government secrecy "in the national interest" just continue to grow and grow. One of the most fascinating of many gripping chapters is on the Savings and Loan scandal of the eighties, a scandal that demonstrates how easily and cynically politics can be manipulated for the benefit of the powerful. Deregulation is a dangerous business, but not if you know the right people, and some of the people who make the most noise about the necessity of a free market have already (along with their cronies) rigged the game. The Bushes, Baker, Cheney, and Lay, among others, do not come off well in this book, but what separates this book from most others that have taken the current administration to task is its willingness to explore a wider culture--really an East Texas culture centered in Houston--and examine its disproportionate and frightening effects on the U.S., the Middle East, and--indeed--the whole wide world. Although it has a fair amount of history that might scare the casual reader, the book largely avoids being a dry academic tome, by including maps, photos, summaries (as well as adequate notes and a bibliography), that help keep the fairly complex relationships clear. Although it is not stated, the book provides evidence that make a powerful argument for greater government transparency, and for greater vigilance on the public's part in monitoring the relations between government and business (we certainly can't trust the politicians to do it). Highly recommended for Texans, Americans, and indeed anyone who is interested in business, government, and the political process. Certainly, the book proves the old adage: when you aren't certain what's going on, just follow the money.