Customer Reviews

The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea

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With nearly two decades of reporting experience in Central Asia for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, LeVine is uniquely qualified to meld the history of the nations bordering the Caspian Sea with contemporary geopolitics. While well-researched and documented, The Oil and the Glory reads like a spellbinding mystery, making it a quick and pleasant read. Bribes, political backstabbing and policy divisions within the U.S. governments are described in colorful detail. Importantly, the Caspian Sea reserves could greatly decrease our dependence on Middle Eastern Oil if we can maintain our strategic advantage which is being undercut by the Putin's government.

LeVine's The Oil and the Glory, like the Yergin's The Prize, is destined to be required reading for those wishing to understand how oil, while vital, is sometimes described as a curse.

"Oil and the Glory" reads like a combination of "The Prize", People Magazine, News of the World, and "Wealth of Nations".

Especially enjoyable are the descriptions of the major oil company execs, rather different from what company spin doctors offer (but for those of us who knew or knew of them, accurate)... Also good are the profiles of Jim Giffen and John Deuss, the kind of people I thought only existed in fiction...

Mr. LeVine has reported for the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times and others, and has done a brilliant job capturing the past and present history and adventures (and adventurers) in what is one of the most important oil provinces in the world.

But beware -- once you start reading this book, it's pretty hard to put it back down in order to eat, sleep, or do other activities that normally occupy one's time...

This wonderful book is the work of author and journalist Steve LeVine, who has spent 18 years studying and reporting on that part of the world. In this book, we see the history of the great oil fields of Caspian Sea region, from its first development in the 19th century, through to today. Along the way the reader meets giants of industry, robber barons, political hacks, fixers, and men of every stripe imaginable.

I must admit that I did not expect too much from this book when I first picked it up. I mean, how interesting can the story of oil development be? Well, Mr. LeVine certainly showed me how interesting it can be! I found the book to be extremely well-written, filled with interesting people, showing a deep understanding of the subject. Indeed, I think that the author goes a long way towards showing what has been happening over in that increasingly important part of the world, and what it means for the future of everyone.

This is a very interesting and informative book, one that I highly recommend!

You'll literally pick this up and won't put it down.

Steve LeVine's "The Oil And The Glory" is a gripping tale of one of the world's most strategically important, yet virtually unknown parts of the world. Over the past 15 years this area has been completely shaped by Big Oil's hunt for resources, American and Russian governments battle for geopolitical influence, and independent dealmakers quest to get rich. What I liked about this book is that it's a first-hand account from guys that were there to explain how these forces shaped the region.

What initially piqued my interest in the book was 5 years living in the former Soviet Union. We heard bits and pieces that alone ended up in Bond movies (not to mention Borat). But now with oil at $90 and huge quantities from the region beginning to come on the market, the Caspian Sea is clearly becoming more strategically important. Steve's book provides right amount of historical context to help better understand these events, and his lively style, with vivid descriptions and fast pace held me until the end.

Highly recommended.

Steve Levine has an easy to read style that definitely grasps your attention. I felt as if I wanted to know what would happen next particularly as it pertained to oil agreements with foreign governments and middlemen. This book reads like a narrative unlike other books on oil which have a matter of fact tone. This one makes one feel as if you are in the story with the players in the Caspian. However, there was one part of the book that appeared to be a bit questionable in my opinion- when the author suggested that Russian intelligence was behind Omani finance minister's death. It seems that the US oil companies had more to gain from this than the Russians given that his right hand man, Deuss, was negotiating with the Russians for a transport route through its region- something which the oil companies via the US government opposed. I would say that this is the only shady area in this book. Otherwise, excellent read. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to understand the Caspian region's oil and politics and how they interrelate with one another especially as it pertains to the recent Russian/Georgian conflict.

The story of Caspian oil for commercial use began in the late 19th century as the value of oil surged with the development of industry and transportation. This story has been brought to life by Mr. Steve Levine in a remarkable tale that focuses on the pivotal players involved. Following the initial development of the Baku oil fields, the area assumed military importance in 2 world wars and then became cloaked under the proprietorship of the Soviet Union. It was not until the breakup of the USSR that Caspian oil became accessible to foreign development. Levine has managed to make direct contact with many of the players active in the post Soviet rush to grab a piece of the Caspian oil action. These players include senior corporate executives, national leaders, state representatives and a handful of individuals eager to cash in on the bonanza waiting to be grabbed and divided. Levine has captured their stories and created a tapestry of contemporary oil history that weaves together endless skeins of personal greed, power, and money, along with national interests of power, wealth and defense.
What could have been told as a good guy / bad guy tale is instead described as a multi-player chess game, engaged on a multi-sided board of shifting squares and re-invented principals. International state teams vie with international self-serving teams of private and public corporations. Players drop allegiances and trade sides, stakes shift with the political winds, agreements forged over months fall flat overnight. Levine circles around the table examining the team players, gathering their play books. He unveils how various deals grow and then collapse forcing the players into new rounds. It is not often that one is given an inside look at how governments and businesses "play" together to reach their aims, which are often not similar. Here we are pulled into the backrooms where such "play" takes place. This particular chapter of oil history is extremely engaging and well told. May whoever writes the next chapter do so with the clarity and detail of Mr. Levine.

I can't say enough good things about this book. I guess that makes my feelings pretty clear up front, doesn't it?. You all have read the other reviews posted here so you know what the book is about. No need to repeat.

As the other reviews have said: This is an always enjoyable, sometimes down right exciting, book to read. Great storyline, larger than life characters, exotic locales, unexpected plot twists, bribes, money and intrigue, double dealing and betrayal, suspenseful to the end. Who can beat that? I couldn't put it down.

This is not a book without substance though, to be dismissed or underestimated. It is a well documented serious piece of work. The notes, acknowledgments, and bibliography at the back of the book attest to the time and commitment made by the author. He has used available written source materials, but more importantly has gone straight to the sources themselves, relying upon an extensive number of interviews that he conducted himself with the players directly involved. "The Oil and the Glory" goes to the most intimate levels of this story bringing the people and the events alive for us in the telling.

I learned a lot reading this book. And enjoyed every minute of my education.

This book is very thoroughly researched, and much more readable than "The Prize" (another book that I found invaluable). If you are interested in oil, the Middle East, and Russia, this book is a great resource and much more pleasant to read than most "oil" books. And if you don't have a special interest in oil, the stories about the individuals involved are fascinating anyway and really bring this mysterious part of the world to life.

Steve used to stop by my apartment in Baku, Azerbaijan to rest up and exchange thoughts on what was happening as we oil companies pursued the "Contract of the Century". He said that he was going to write a book about it but little did I know that he would write such a great book!! Hopkirk, Yergin and now LeVine!

I know from my years in Baku that those events in his book are accurate. But Steve also brings a much wider and historical perspective than I was ever able to piece together while there.

Once you pick up his book you won't be able to put it down until you have finished it!

As a third generation oilman, I found Steve Levine's book about Caspian Oil to be a must read for any petroleum industry professional that has an interest in the Caspian component of our global industry. This book serves as an excellent reference book as well as entertainment. Levine's interesting accounts of the players and government operatives that have a hand in developing another "super giant" oil and gas province is at times, quite informative and illuminating. I feel that even though the book may not be totally up to date, it nevertheless will provide a fundamental understanding of the politics and manipulations that inevitably occur when countries and world leaders jocky for their piece of the black gold. This book should also be read by so-called environmentalists and those that want a life without fossil fuels, including the 6,000 primary products that are derived from crude oil, such as plastics we humans use from cradle to grave. It would be interesting to hear intelligent arguments, for once, from the anti-oil crowd after the have fully studied our industry and how damn difficult it really is to keep the inhabitants on this planet supplied with the means to live in a modern world and not something approaching life in the caves where we all came from. It is petroleum, as well as natural gas, that help propel the earth's population into a better existance, but at the same time, when the god-given resource is mishandled and manipulated, as this book documents many such occasions, it is not hard to see why every significant war in the last century had blood and oil involved and not much has changed in this new century. The riches of the Caspian can be used for enormous benefit to populations affected or be squandered by the likes of despots and vile power mongers as this book also enlightens the reader. The Caspian resources are a temporary treasure that if handled judicially and with proper foresight, will vastly improve the lives of millions of people, but as this book points out through its endless cast of characters, accomplishing those higher goals is often quite difficult even with experienced and seasoned professionals. Steve Levine has a well written dispaatch from one of the more mysterious places on earth.