Oil Powers

Victor McFarland (PhD, Yale) is assistant professor at the University of Missouri and a fellow at the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University. This would be his first book.Victor McFarland is assistant professor of history at the University of Missouri.

Vanessa Ogle, author of The Global Transformation of Time: 1870–1950:
McFarland’s superb, deeply researched book convincingly shows just how crucial the U.S.–Saudi alliance was in reorienting America’s foreign policy and the global economy in the 1970s. The legacies of these policies—wars in the Middle East, the rise of finance, and others—continue to shape global affairs today.

Robert Vitalis, author of Oilcraft: The Myths of Scarcity and Security That Haunt U.S. Energy Policy:
A lot of nonsense has been written since 9/11 about the history of United States-Saudi relations. Oil Powers gets it right.

Odd Arne Westad, author of The Cold War: A World History:
The extraordinary relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has influenced both countries, often for the worse. There is no better guide to the origins of this complex alliance than McFarland’s new book. Anyone with an interest in the U.S. role in the Middle East should read it.