From pearls to oil : how the oil industry came to the United Arab Emirates / David Heard.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

From Pearls to Oil tells the story of the pre-war negotiations and explorations that led to the Emirates being the outstandingly wealthy and successful state that it is today. In the early 1930s few outsiders knew where Abu Dhabi was. That British expert on Arabia, H. St. John Philby, was dismissive of the Trucial Coast {u2013} 2These states owe their existence to piracy and pearls. They have no interest whatsoever in the great desert hinterland behind them. . .. [Their boundaries] might well be defined as extending from the coast to the usual three-mile limit at sea and, on the same analogy, to a similar three-mile limit from the coast inland3. (David Heard is quoting from a document and was unable to locate the original source. Can any reader of this review help?) The author carefully points out the close connection between the island of Abu Dhabi and the inland oasis villages of Buraimi/Al Ain as well as the authority successive sheikhs of Abu Dhabi have had over tribes that moved around over 100 miles from the sea. The negotiations were protracted. Petroleum Concessions Ltd (PCL) grew out of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) and a number of distinct personalities came to the area to negotiate. Some had a sympathy for and understanding of the local authorities. David Heard{u2019}s own judgements of people vary according to how an individual empathised with the local people, respecting their customs and courtesies. The fascinating character Hajj Williamson is the British hero of the book. Williamson left Clifton College (where he was perhaps a contemporary of Sir Arnold Wilson) at the age of 13 and ran away to sea. He embraced Islam, was a fluent speaker of Arabic and scores high marks on the Heard scale. David Heard fantasises about him and the other British negotiators. Major Holmes and Brigadier Longrigg have their gin and tonic on a veranda of the PCL house in Dubai while Williamson sits with local Arabs on a carpet in the sand, sipping from tiny coffee cups and eating a rice dish with his fingers. Pearls to Oil From Pearls to Oil is a testament of the challenges contended by extraordinary men who initiated the search for oil in the United Arab Emirates, in the years between the two World Wars. The book features never-before-published copies of letters, notes and reports complementing the research, which itself stems from the archives of the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company (ADPC) and other literature recorded by British Government officials. With rare photographs, maps and diagrams alongside the in-depth narrative, this book is a great asset for scholars, residents and visitors interested in the history of this land. -- Book Description Amazon.