First published 2009
Bryan Burrough tells the story of Texas oil through four men who changed America. Roy Cullen, H. L. Hunt, Clint Murchison, and Sid Richardson started poor and built the biggest oil fortunes of the twentieth century. Hunt grabbed Texas's largest oilfield from its discoverer while maintaining two secret families. Murchison hosted British royalty at his Mexican ranch and made shadowy deals with J. Edgar Hoover. Cullen dropped out of elementary school but used his millions to rebuild the Texas Republican Party. Richardson befriended presidents, especially Lyndon Johnson. Together they moved power from the East Coast to Texas, sending three Texans to the White House and funding modern conservatism. Their children often made bigger headlines and sometimes bigger fortunes. But family fights, scandals, and bankruptcies destroyed most of their empires by the late 1980s. Burrough shows how these four men created the legend of the swaggering Texas oilman and left a lasting mark on American economics, politics, and culture.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, business, non-fiction, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: rags-to-riches, rise-and-fall
Setting: Mexico, Texas, United States
Period: 20th Century
466 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press HC, The