House of Bush House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties

Craig Unger has done a terrific job in this book, of exposing the conflicted loyalties of President George W. Bush. Unger exposes the financial dealings of Bush, from his days as a failed business man, running Harken, a company that was bailed out of bankruptcy by the Saudi royal family, to his days as one of the most unpopular presidents in US history, smoking cigars on the Whitehouse balcony with the Saudi amabassador, whilst the Pentagon smoldered in the distance, after 9/11.

If you have watched Fahrenheit 9/11, you will have seen Craig Unger interviewed and some of his material from this book used in that film. Obviously, this book goes in to far more detail than Michael Moore's film does.

Unger's book can be considered as a selective biography of Bush, focusing primarily on his business history, such as the above-mentioned Harken and Arbusto (emphasise the 'bust' in pronounciation).

Of particular attention to readers should be the Carlyle group, a multi-tentacled investment group that counts among its members George H. W. Bush and members of the Bin Laden family. The Carlyle group has investments in US defense companies, so it could be argued that one of the economic benificaries of Osama Bin Laden's attacks on 9/11 were members of his own family.

This book also details how members of the Bin Laden family were allowed to fly out of the US without being questioned by the FBI, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, in contravention of the no-fly policy.

Craig Unger's book is well written and the evidence documented in it is well presented. This book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the hidden influences on George W. Bush's foreign policy in the Middle East.

Good, but sensationalist at times! (2/2 people found this helpful)

This work is a solid piece of investigative journalism and provides the basis for one of the best movies of last year, Fahrenheit 9/11. The sources were generally very good and well used.

There were however a few discrepancies between the text and other sources (i.e. The 9/11 Commission Report). This book was published prior to the completion of the 9/11 Commission Report and there are some glaring contradictions between the two.

My charge of sensationalism is due to first hand (primary source) knowledge of a particular aspect of the text. Chapter 12 (page 191) talks of Dr. Condelezza Rice's tenure as a director of Chevron and in particular that she had a company vessel named after her. The author by suggesting that Chevron "quietly renamed the ship Altair Voyager." gives the impression of a subterfuge or covert action. I can refute this claim as I was one of the officers on board the Altair Voyager at the time of her renaming ceremony and there was nothing covert about it. Actions such as these give me a suspicion of sensationalism.

Good book but for an investigative journalist of merit, try Seymore Hersh (Chain Of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib) or Bob Woodward (Plan of Attack).

House of Bush House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties

Craig Unger

Reader Reviews:

The hidden hand behind Bush's foreign policy (0/0 people found this helpful)

Good, but sensationalist at times! (2/2 people found this helpful)

Similar Products

Categories