Customer Reviews

America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier (Stanford Studies in Middle Eastern and I)

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"America's Kingdom" by Robert Vitalis is a deeply fascinating history of the U.S. in Saudi Arabia in the mid 20th century. Mr. Vitalis, who is an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, seeks to correct the mythmaking that has obscured the real story for far too long, dedicating many years of research to this project. The result is an exacting piece of scholarship that produces remarkable insight into the forces that have shaped U.S. relations with the Middle East.

The book is divided into two parts. The first section focuses on the labor practices of ARAMCO in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Vitalis astutely compares and contrasts the industrial practices of other U.S.-based extractive industries to find that ARAMCO simply imposed upon its Saudi clients what had already been learned elsewhere: namely, to divide and conquer the local labor force; control the political process; and extract maximum profits. In this particular case, of course, Mr. Vitalis details how ARAMCO's efforts were fully supported by a U.S. government intent on pursuing its geopolitical ambitions on the world stage, in which the control of oil played no small part.

The second part tells the story of worker struggle, politics and power. Debunking the myths that had been carefully constructed by corporate public relations professionals and sympathetic government officials, Mr. Vitalis decisively shows how worker's rights were gained by popular struggle and not from enlightened corporate policies. Through Mr. Vitalis' engrossing narrative, we see how American interests came to ally itself ever more closely with the Kingdom as a means to ensuring a steady flow of oil and projecting American power into the region.

Throughout the text, the reader is introduced to a cast of sometimes colorful characters ranging from labor agitators, royalists, secret CIA operatives, Soviet double agents and more. Mr. Vitalis excels at uncovering obscure source documents that help him weave these players into the narrative and bring history to life. While there is no doubt that the overall thrust of the book is towards a high degree of historical accuracy, profound insight and professionalism, the character profiles and world-shaping events that are narrated by Mr. Vitalis result in a suprisingly readable and informative account.

I highly recommend this exceptional book to educated readers who have a keen interest in 20th century American and Middle Eastern history.

I was honored by having Bob Vitalis teach me a class while I was at the University of Pennsylvania, and was always struck by his engaging ideas and unconventional teaching style. Overcoming several obstacles to actually get the information to write this book in the first place, Vitalis has finally achieved what many would consider an impossible feat: An honest look at the history of the American-Saudi relationship. Here's to the hope that future students of his will be as inspired by his ideas as I was.

If you're looking for a discussion of the nature of the U.S.-Saudi political relationship, I would recommend Inside The Mirage: America's Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia. This book, "America's Kingdom," is really just focuses on the American influence on Aramco, and Aramco's influence on Washington.

There's another, far less excellent history of Aramco out there, from several years ago, the error-filled Oil, God, and Gold: The Story of Aramco and the Saudi Kings.