Customer Reviews

Energy, Economics, and Politics in the Caspian Region: Dreams and Realities (Praeger Security International)

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I love it when people sticks their necks out.

Best book (maybe only book - the rest of books on this area are by a bunch of non-energy 'experts', academic voyeurs, Twenty-Something political 'experts', and Seattle bloggers) on the 'interesting' energy poker game in the Caspian.

Imagine a gold rush town of the old west, no sheriff but sumptuous saloons all with WELL oiled swinging and I do mean 'swinging' doors (I stole that line from a BP VP describing Baku).

You walk in for a little action. Everyone is partying, and packing more & newer weapons than the bar in Star Wars. In the midst of it all these crazy and dangerous gunslingers have left alone, at a very respectful distance, a very quiet poker game being played by:
'Doc' Putin, 'Wyatt' Khamenini, 'Batt' Nazarbeyev, 'Jesse' Aliyev, and Gurbanguly 'The Kid' Berdimuhamedow.

Wanna know the stakes; where these guys got such unbelievably tall teetering stacks of chips; if the cards are marked; what the (unwritten) rules of the game are; "who died (and how) and made you a boss"; or just who the heck owns the underwater gas tank called the Caspian Sea?

The saloon is getting more and more packed every hour with the Pretend Good, the Really Bad and the Pug Ugly. But ain't no one dare interrupt the deal or dealing. In through the Swinging Doors Saloon walks the new 'law' 'men', Sheriff Barry Obama and stumbling closely on his heels, Deputy Gordy Brown. You're about to ask them 'who's running the show' when the real wranglers break out laughing at the Sheriff's very expensive but too-big-for-his-head cowboy hat and the Deputy's brand spanking new gaudy unscratched spotless pair of zircon encrusted spurs (in his hand). The tender foots awkwardly withdraw mumbling something about 'solar cars' and 'green pixie-dust powered airliners' because silence has fallen over the saloon cause someone serious just appeared.

Above the anxious silence you hear the unmistakable but subtle rustle of a velvet music hall dress. The most beautiful fearless woman west of the Lena has been watching the game from the railing and walks down the stairs right up to the table. She lifts her silk stocking leg onto the card table - and pulls from her garter - a platinum HP-12c Financial Calculator - and slaps it on the card table. Putin tips his hat "Mam", Aliyev graciously offers her a chair, Nazarbeyev yanks the waiter down by the lapels and orders her a whiskey -"the bottle!", Khamenei looks away and tries to nonchalantly count his and everyone else's chips, and Berdimuhamedow excitedly fondles his 5 carat diamond stick-pin.

Well, I never met her, but - that's how I imagine her after reading her more down-to-earth / less-wishful-thinking take on the energy production, pipelines, and politics of the Caspian!

No wonder the book is sold out.

Should have charged the standard $325 American Petroleum Institute price.

But what do I know - I can't even understand, the 'Stimulus' Bill never mind find the part where they drill for oil in the US to provide good jobs & wages and energy independence - actually unburdening the last American taxpayer with a real productive job in US - rather than picking the pocket of their children and grandchildren to pay-off, oh I mean 'stimulate', campaign workers, oh I mean state & city workers of bloated bureaucracies of bankrupt state/city political machines.