Blood and Oil: Memoirs of a Persian PrinceBorn into Iran's most powerful aristocratic family - so feared by Khomeini that the entire clan was blacklisted - Prince Manucher was raised in a vast harem with his thirty-five brothers and sisters, one of whom married the head of Iran's communist party, while another, who was once foreign minister, lost his life to the upstart Shah's jealousy. Farmanfarmaian was the primary government negotiator with the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company until its convulsive nationalization by his cousin Mossedeq in 1951. Later, as a director of the National Iranian Oil Company, he pioneered - against the Shah's wishes - the partnership that resulted in OPEC. This is the first account by one of OPEC's original crafters of the politics and intrigue surrounding the international development of the oil industry. With the flair of a modern-day Arabian Nights, Blood and Oil brilliantly renders the tensions between the excesses of the ancien regime and Iran's increasingly reactionary religious establishment. Prince Manucher's close relationships with everyone from the last Shah to the teary-eyed Mossadeq allow him to provide a fresh portrait of the Pahlavi reign and the revolution that brought it down. But the real revelation in these pages is his new perspective on British oil imperialism, and its brutal effect on twentieth-century history. |
Contents
Escape from the Ayatollah | 3 |
TALES OF THE EARLY YEARS | 29 |
Inside the Walls of the Harem | 31 |
Copyright | |
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Other editions - View all
Blood and Oil: Inside the Shah's Iran Manucher Farmanfarmaian,Roxane Farmanfarmaian No preview available - 1999 |
Blood and Oil: Memoirs of a Persian Prince Manūchihr Farmānfarmāʼiyān,Roxane Farmanfarmaian No preview available - 1999 |
Common terms and phrases
Abadan agreement Ahmad AIOC ambassador American Arab arrived asked Azerbaijan Bakhtiar became began British government brother called Caracas Carlos Andrés Pérez chador concession Consortium coup dinner door embassy Entezam eyes face Farman Farma Farmanieh father felt Firouz foreign Hafez Hamadan hand head Hossein Iran Iran's Iranian Iraq Isfahan Kermanshah Khomeini knew land later lived looked lunch Majles Manucher Masjed Soleyman million Ministry Mohammad Mohammad Mossadeq Mohammadvali Mirza mollah months morning Mossadeq Mozzafar nationalization never night NIOC Nosrat-Doleh oil companies once OPEC Pahlavi palace Pérez Persian Pirnia plane political president prime minister Qajar Qashgahi Qavam-Saltaneh refinery Reza Khan Reza Shah Russians Sa'id Saudi Arabia SAVAK sent Seyyed Zia Shah's Shiraz sister Soviet streets TALE talk Tehran told took tribes Tudeh turned United Venezuela village walked wanted Zahedi