Synopses & Reviews
The rise and rise of the Bin Laden family is one of the great stories of the twentieth century; its repercussions have already deeply marked the twenty-first. Until now, however, it is a story that has never been fully told, as the Bin Ladens have successfully fended off attempts to understand the family circles from which Osama sprang. In this the family has been abetted by the kingdom it calls home, Saudi Arabia, one of the most closed societies on earth.
Steve Coll’s The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century is the groundbreaking history of a family and its fortune. It chronicles a young illiterate Yemeni bricklayer, Mohamed Bin Laden, who went to the new, oil-rich country of Saudi Arabia and quickly became a vital figure in its development, building great mosques and highways and making himself and many of his children millionaires. It is also a story of the Saudi royal family, whom the Bin Ladens served loyally and without whose capricious favor they would have been nothing. And it is a story of tensions and contradictions in a country founded on extreme religious purity, which then became awash in oil money and dazzled by the temptations of the West. In only two generations the Bin Ladens moved from a famine- stricken desert canyon to luxury jets, yachts, and private compounds around the world, even going into business with Hollywood celebrities. These religious and cultural gyrations resulted in everything from enthusiasm for America—exemplified by Osama’s free-living pilot brother Salem—to an overwhelming determination to destroy it.
The Bin Ladens is a meticulously researched, colorful, shocking, entertaining, and disturbing narrative of global integration and its limitations. It encapsulates the unsettling contradictions of globalization in the story of a single family who has used money, mobility, and technology to dramatically varied ends.
Review
"A fascinating panorama . . . about a man and his family [and] the powerful impact they have made on our times."
-The Washington Post
"Riveting . . . the most psychologically detailed portrait of the brutal 9/11 mastermind yet."
-Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"Stunningly researched and grippingly told . . . [The Bin Ladens] ought to be read by anyone who really wants to understand the origins of the current crisis."
-Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times
Review
"Certainly the finest historical narrative so far on the origins of al Qaeda in the post-Soviet rubble of Afghanistan . . .
Ghost Wars provides fresh details and helps explain the motivations behind many crucial decisions."
-The New York Times Book Review
Review
“ExxonMobil has met its match in Coll, an elegant writer and dogged reporter…
extraordinary… monumental.” --THE WASHINGTON POST
“Fascinating… Private Empire is a book meticulously prepared as if for trial, a lawyerly accumulation of information that lets the facts speak for themselves… a compelling and elucidatory work.” --BLOOMBERG
“Private Empire is meticulous, multi-angled and valuable… Mr. Coll’s prose sweeps the earth like an Imax camera.”
— Dwight Garner, THE NEW YORK TIMES
"ExxonMobil has cut a ruthless path through the Age of Oil. Yet intense secrecy has kept one of the world's largest companies a mystery, until now. Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power is a masterful study of Big Oil's biggest player… Coll's in-depth reporting, buttressed by his anecdotal prose, make Private Empire a must-read. Consider Private Empire a sequel of sorts to The Prize, Daniel Yergin's Pulitzer-winning history of the oil industry… Coll's portrait of ExxonMobil is both riveting and appalling… Yet Private Empire is not so much an indictment as a fascinating look into American business and politics. With each chapter as forceful as a New Yorker article, the book abounds in Dickensian characters.”
— SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"Coll makes clear in his magisterial account that Exxon is mighty almost beyond imagining, producing more profit than any American company in the history of profit, the ultimate corporation in 'an era of corporate ascendancy.' This history of its last two decades is therefore a revealing history of our time, a chronicle of the intersection between energy and politics."
--Bill McKibben, NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS
"Groundbreaking... Masterful as a corporate portrait, Private Empire gushes with narrative."
— AMERICAN PROSPECT
Review
andnbsp;andldquo;ExxonMobil has met its match in Coll, an elegant writer and dogged reporterandhellip;
extraordinaryandhellip; monumental.andrdquo; --THE WASHINGTON POST
andldquo;Fascinatingandhellip; Private Empire is a book meticulously prepared as if for trial, a lawyerly accumulation of information that lets the facts speak for themselvesandhellip; a compelling and elucidatory work.andrdquo; --BLOOMBERG
andldquo;Private Empire is meticulous, multi-angled and valuableandhellip; Mr. Collandrsquo;s prose sweeps the earth like an Imax camera.andrdquo;
andmdash; Dwight Garner, THE NEW YORK TIMES
andquot;ExxonMobil has cut a ruthless path through the Age of Oil. Yet intense secrecy has kept one of the world's largest companies a mystery, until now. Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power is a masterful study of Big Oil's biggest playerandhellip; Coll's in-depth reporting, buttressed by his anecdotal prose, make Private Empire a must-read. Consider Private Empire a sequel of sorts to The Prize, Daniel Yergin's Pulitzer-winning history of the oil industryandhellip; Coll's portrait of ExxonMobil is both riveting and appallingandhellip; Yet Private Empire is not so much an indictment as a fascinating look into American business and politics. With each chapter as forceful as a New Yorker article, the book abounds in Dickensian characters.andrdquo;
andmdash; SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
andquot;Coll makes clear in his magisterial account that Exxon is mighty almost beyond imagining, producing more profit than any American company in the history of profit, the ultimate corporation in 'an era of corporate ascendancy.' This history of its last two decades is therefore a revealing history of our time, a chronicle of the intersection between energy and politics.andquot;
--Bill McKibben, NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS
andquot;Groundbreaking... Masterful as a corporate portrait, Private Empire gushes with narrative.andquot;
andmdash; AMERICAN PROSPECT
Synopsis
An extraordinary and monumental expose of Big Oil from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner SteveColl (The Washington Post)
Includes a profile of current chairman and chief executive of ExxonMobil Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's nomination for Secretary of State
In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobil the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United States Steve Coll reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the curtain, tracking the corporation s recent history and its central role on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The action spans the globe featuring kidnapping cases, civil wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlin and the narrative is driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee Iron Ass Raymond, ExxonMobil s chief executive until 2005, and current chairman and chief executive Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's nomination for Secretary of State. A penetrating, news-breaking study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy."
Synopsis
An "extraordinary" and "monumental" expose of Big Oil from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Coll (
The Washington Post)
Includes a profile of current Secretary of State and former chairman and chief executive of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson
In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobil--the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United States--Steve Coll reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the curtain, tracking the corporation's recent history and its central role on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The action spans the globe--featuring kidnapping cases, civil wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlin--and the narrative is driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee "Iron Ass" Raymond, ExxonMobil's chief executive until 2005, and current chairman and chief executive Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's nomination for Secretary of State. A penetrating, news-breaking study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy.
Steve Coll's new book Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2001-2016 will be published in February 2018.
Synopsis
From the award-winning and bestselling author of Ghost Wars and Directorate S, an "extraordinary" and "monumental" expos of Big Oil (
The Washington Post)
Includes a profile of current Secretary of State and former chairman and chief executive of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson
In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobil--the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United States--Steve Coll reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the curtain, tracking the corporation's recent history and its central role on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The action spans the globe--featuring kidnapping cases, civil wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlin--and the narrative is driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee "Iron Ass" Raymond, ExxonMobil's chief executive until 2005, and current chairman and chief executive Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's nomination for Secretary of State. A penetrating, news-breaking study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy.
Synopsis
"ExxonMobil has met its match in Coll, an elegant writer and dogged reporter . . . extraordinary . . . monumental." --The Washington Post "Fascinating . . . Private Empire is a book meticulously prepared as if for trial . . . a compelling and elucidatory work." --Bloomberg
From the award-winning and bestselling author of Ghost Wars and Directorate S, an extraordinary expos of Big Oil. Includes a profile of current Secretary of State and former chairman and chief executive of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson
In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobil--the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United States--Steve Coll reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the curtain, tracking the corporation's recent history and its central role on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The action spans the globe--featuring kidnapping cases, civil wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlin--and the narrative is driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee "Iron Ass" Raymond, ExxonMobil's chief executive until 2005, and current chairman and chief executive Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's nomination for Secretary of State. A penetrating, news-breaking study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy.
Synopsis
In
The Bin Ladens, two- time Pulitzer Prize-winner Steve Coll continues where
Ghost Wars left off, shedding new light on one of the most elusive families of the twenty-first century. Rising from a famine-stricken desert into luxury, private compounds, and even business deals with Hollywood celebrities, the Bin Ladens have benefited from the tensions and contradictions in a country founded on extreme religious purity, suddenly thrust into a world awash in oil, money, and the temptations of the West. But what do these incongruities mean for globalization, the War on Terror, and America's place in the Middle East? Meticulously researched,
The Bin Ladens is the story of a remarkably varied and often dangerous family that has used money, mobility, and technology to dramatically different ends.
Synopsis
Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan
With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill Bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998.
Synopsis
Available for the first time in paperback, Steve Coll's trek across a socially and politically damaged South Asia Bestselling author Steve Coll is one of the preeminent journalists of the twenty-first century. His last two books, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars and New York Times bestseller The Bin Ladens, have been praised for their creative insight and complex yet compelling narratives-and have put him on par with journalists such as the legendary Bob Woodward. Now, for the first time ever, the paperback edition of On the Grand Trunk Road is finally available, revised and updated with new material. Focusing on Coll's journeys in conflict-ridden India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Afghanistan as a bureau chief for The Washington Post, On the Grand Trunk Road reveals a little-seen area of the world where violence, corruption, and greed have had devastating effects on South Asians from all walks of life.
Synopsis
An “extraordinary” and “monumental” exposé of Big Oil from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Coll (The Washington Post) In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobil—the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United States—Steve Coll reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the curtain, tracking the corporation’s recent history and its central role on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The action spans the globe—featuring kidnapping cases, civil wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlin—and the narrative is driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee “Iron Ass” Raymond, ExxonMobil’s chief executive until 2005. A penetrating, news-breaking study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy.
Synopsis
An andldquo;extraordinaryandrdquo; and andldquo;monumentalandrdquo; exposandeacute; of Big Oil from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Steveand#160;Coll (The Washington Post) In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobilandmdash;the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United Statesandmdash;Steve Coll reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the curtain, tracking the corporationandrsquo;s recent history and its central role on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The action spans the globeandmdash;featuring kidnapping cases, civil wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlinandmdash;and the narrative is driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee andldquo;Iron Assandrdquo; Raymond, ExxonMobilandrsquo;s chief executive until 2005. A penetrating, news-breaking study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy.
Synopsis
An andldquo;extraordinaryandrdquo; and andldquo;monumentalandrdquo; exposandeacute; of Big Oil from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Steveand#160;Coll (The Washington Post) In this, the first hard-hitting examination of ExxonMobilandmdash;the largest and most powerful private corporation in the United Statesandmdash;Steve Coll reveals the true extent of its power. Private Empire pulls back the curtain, tracking the corporationandrsquo;s recent history and its central role on the world stage, beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The action spans the globeandmdash;featuring kidnapping cases, civil wars, and high-stakes struggles at the Kremlinandmdash;and the narrative is driven by larger-than-life characters, including corporate legend Lee andldquo;Iron Assandrdquo; Raymond, ExxonMobilandrsquo;s chief executive until 2005. A penetrating, news-breaking study, Private Empire is a defining portrait of Big Oil in American politics and foreign policy.
About the Author
STEVEand#160;COLL is most recently the author of the New York Times bestseller The Bin Ladens. He is the president of the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy institute headquartered in Washington, D.C., and a staff writer for the New Yorker. Previously he worked for twenty years at the Washington Post, where he received a Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism in 1990. He is the author of six other books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller Ghost Wars.
Table of Contents
List of Maps
Principal Characters
Prologue: Accounts Receivable - September 1996
Part One: Blood Brothers - November 1979 to February 1989
1. andldquo;Weandrsquo;re Going to Die Here
2. andldquo;Lenin Taught Usandrdquo;
3. andldquo;Go Raise Hellandrdquo;
4. andldquo;I Loved Osamaandrdquo;
5. andldquo;Donandrsquo;t Make It Our Warandrdquo;
6. andldquo;Who Is This Massoud?andrdquo;
7. andldquo;The Terrorists Will Own the Worldandrdquo;
8. andldquo;Inshallah, You Will Know My Plansandrdquo;
9. andldquo;We Wonandrdquo;
Part Two: The One-Eyed Man Was King - March 1989 to December 1997
10. andldquo;Serious Risksandrdquo;
11. andldquo;A Rogue Elephantandrdquo;
12. andldquo;We Are in Dangerandrdquo;
13. andldquo;A Friend of Your Enemyandrdquo;
14. andldquo;Maintain a Prudent Distanceandrdquo;
15. andldquo;A New Generationandrdquo;
16. andldquo;Slowly, Slowly Sucked into Itandrdquo;
17. andldquo;Dangling the Carrotandrdquo;
18. andldquo;We Couldnandrsquo;t Indict Himandrdquo;
19. andldquo;Weandrsquo;re Keeping These Stingersandrdquo;
20. andldquo;Does America Need the CIA?andrdquo;
Part Three: The Distant Enemy - January 1998 to September 10, 2001
21. andldquo;You Are to Capture Him Aliveandrdquo;
22. andldquo;The Kingdomandrsquo;s Interestsandrdquo;
23. andldquo;We Are at Warandrdquo;
24. andldquo;Letandrsquo;s Just Blow the Thing Upandrdquo;
25. andldquo;The Manson Familyandrdquo;
26. andldquo;That Unit Disappearedandrdquo;
27. andldquo;You Crazy White Guysandrdquo;
28. andldquo;Is There Any Policy?andrdquo;
29. andldquo;Daring Me to Kill Themandrdquo;
30. andldquo;What Face Will Omar Show to God?andrdquo;
31. andldquo;Many Americans Are Going to Dieandrdquo;
32. andldquo;What an Unlucky Countryandrdquo;
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index