Discovery!: The Search for Arabian Oil

Discovery is an entertaining and educating read about the world that we have forgotten so easily. It would be nice to know what didn't make the final version before print, however, what is written is refreshing and well done. Stegner makes you realize how influencial anyone can be.

...of this book written by Philip L. Fradkin in the San Francisco Chronicle lead me to Stegner's work. Fradkin's article was not actually about the CONTENT of the book so much as the circumstances surrounding its commissioning and publication. The conclusion is stated in his review's title: that the work should have stayed "hidden", that is, not published at all, and that would have been a real tragedy. The circumstances surrounding the work's publications are covered quite well by Thomas W. Lippman in a Foreword to the work. It is clear that Stegner was paid by the corporate predecessor to ARAMCO to write an account of the first days of oil exploration in the Kingdom. It is also clear that certain "politically sensitive" portions of his work were revised or deleted, and that his consent to this process was obtained. Like many others, I would love to have read the unexpurgated version, but the only choice is the one available, with some "punches pulled," some "sensitivities" glossed over. Ah, if there were only similar type Forewords that explained the background and biases of the numerous "Saudi-bashing" books that have been published. In reading this book I could not help think of Edgar Snow's "A Journey to the Beginning." Snow was fresh out of journalism school, went to China for a short period, but stayed over 13 years, and in the process met, and later portrayed the creators of modern China, Mao Tse-Tung and Chou En Lai. Snow's work remains essential if one is to understand one of the most important countries in the world today. Stegner's circumstances were considerably different than Snow's, but he too had unique access, and produced a portrait of some of the characters who "were attendants at the birth of a world." (page 151). There are the delightful descriptive nuggets of a great writer, such as "...he saw all the stigmata of great hurry, great expansion, the pipeline heading our for Ras Tanura..." Stegner's assessments and conclusions concerning one of the more contentious relationships in the world today, between the United States and the very heartland of oil and Islam, Saudi Arabia is worthy of reflection and consideration: "... which is the one consistently disseminated by hostile propagandists, reflects one aspect of the emergent unrest that has turned much of the Arab world away from the United States. It must be challenged, for unwilling as a democracy may be to take its own side in an argument, and meekly as it may believe the worst interpretations of its own motives, American oil development in the Middle East has been, all things considered, responsible and fair." (Introduction xxv) I read Stegner's work immediately after having read the "flip side" of these momentous events, one Saudi's account of the creation of ARAMCO, AbdelRahman Munif's "Cities of Salt." Both works are essential for understanding one of the most important relationships in the world today - and it would be a real tragedy if either were supp

Stegner does an incredible job of encapsulating Saudi-US history by covering a decade in these few hundred pages. His history of the region is peppered with both mundane facts and figures and in-depth characterizations that are part of Stegner's legacy. The author also focuses interestingly on the details of oil exploration and drilling and spends almost an entire chapter on how the men of the oil camp eventually learned how to cap a broken oil well that had caught fire and killed several people. He also characterizes the people of the time in his descriptive literary way. From the college graduate men trekking through the deserts with their Bedouin guides to the wildcatters - blue collar American men experienced in oil drilling, to the King, royal family, Bedouins and unfamiliar culture and religion of Saudi Arabia in the 1930s. What is most remarkable about the book is that it forces the reader to accept the idea that the men and women involved in Saudi Arabia's modern historical beginnings were hardworking, trusting, culturally sensitive, family-oriented people whose goal was the mutually beneficial cooperation of two peoples with very little in common. It is easy to find any book purporting to be a "true" history of the "evil" American oil corporations and their insidious inner dealings with the Al-Saud family on any shelf of a bookstore or college classroom today, particularly after the US's frontpage "failures" in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Iran. It is difficult to take such portrayals at face value without seeing their uninformed emotionally charged and frankly mainstream political agenda with its tongue in cheek references. Drilled into everyone's base emotions today are the binary slogans: Oil company = bad. Capitalism = bad. USA involvement in the Middle East = bad. Unfortunately these statements are all put to shame under the deft hands of Wallace Stegner, whose book was written over 40 years ago. The ease in accepting the search for Arabian oil as a well-intentioned benign project that can actually be a force of advancement (vs. exploitation say) is borne out of Stegner's careful and emotional portrayals of the personal lives of the people involved. In that small amount of space the reader is forced to reconcile his or her politics on a grand generalistic level and confront the reality of the personal space. In accepting Stegner's vision the reader must confront his or her own political generalizations about the world and must accept it as a much more complicated beast than some simplistic pedantry regarding good vs. evil. The beauty in the author's writing is his ability to paint this complex vision of two worlds on a collision course with history in such an accessible and poetic manner, yet one which indeed fleshes out this complexity and innocence.

This is not a book for staid historians or energy policy wonks. Wallace Stegner's Discovery! The Search for Arabian Oil is a real life adventure chronicle casting nomads, royalty, entrepreneurs and diplomats against a backdrop of the past century's most significant resource development. And were lucky it's been under wraps until now, when we can use it as a lens with which to view the next big turn in energy.

The beginning of something big often starts out small.... There was a time when the Persian Gulf was simple, quiet and undisturbed. A place where religious pilgrimages were made with little interruption, and life went on as it had for centuries. But then came change.... It was gradual and slow to start. The government leaders were cautious, skeptical of the advanced nations. Yet they desired the betterment of their people and country. There were many voices-and the choices were vast. Who should they trust? What country offered the most? King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud allowed numerous companies the opportunity to explore for oil. But it was the influence of St. John Philby, a former English intelligence office and Muslim convert that opened doors for the Americans. During the 1930's depression, taking risks could be disastrous. However, the American oil company was successful. After many negotiations the Saudi King granted a partnership. The Americans agreed to share profits, build roads and towns, and most importantl, train employees. There was much the Saudi people needed to learn, and it would take many years before Aramco could stand on its own. The American families who came will never be forgotten. Their influence had a lasting effect on those who they trained, helped and befriended. However, there were struggles and challenges along the way, which no one could have foreseen. Discovery! The Search of Arabian Oil, summarizes the blossoming of a lasting business affiliation between King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud and the United States, spanning the depression of the 1930s to the end of World War II This intriguing, and vividly descriptive story, was compiled and written some fifty years ago. Page by page you are transported back through the passing of history. Armchair Interviews says: The experiences in this book will definitely give you with a new perspective!