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Yamani: The Inside Story
By Jeffrey Robinson
Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani was minister of petroleum in Saudi Arabia for an unprecedented 24 years, from 1962 to 1986. During that period, he occupied center stage in the global economic arena, as the price of oil rose from $3 a barrel to $40, and then dropped precipitously to below $13 a barrel at the time of his dismissal in 1986.
Jeffrey Robinson does more than tell the story of Yamani's life as the Saudi Arabian oil minister. By weaving in a purported behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of OPEC, the interplay of the many personalities that make up that diverse cartel, as well as speculation on the inner workings of the Saudi royal family, the reader is introduced to a variety of subplots that have an effect on the Yamani story. Robinson provides the reader with a long list of journalists, scholars, petroleum industry insiders, and various government agencies in the US and Great Britain whom he consulted in piecing together the parts of Yamani's life. The author also interviewed Yamani at length, although the book is depicted by Robinson as containing more information than Yamani wanted published.
The biography is loosely fashioned in chronological order, although the first chapter is an anecdotal one, based on the author's numerous interviews with Yamani. This chapter provides a feeling for Yamani's...