Contents -- Foreword -- Cast of characters -- Captive narratives: a brief and unexceptional introduction to the history of firms and states -- Part 1. The nearest faraway place -- Arabian frontiers -- American camp -- The wizards of Dhahran -- Part 2. Desire's empty quarter -- Ayyam al-Kadalak...

"With this book, Bob Vitalis tackles the geopolitical "truths" about oil: that US presence in the Gulf and our relationship with Saudi Arabia is necessary to stabilize an otherwise volatile market; that US oil independence is necessary to prevent foreign powers from controlling and limiting...