Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Book!
Review: This turned out to be a very good book. You are able to see
the long term relationship between the Bush family and the
ruling House of Saud.The author shows the many business dealings
that have occured between the two families.Most notable is the
joint investment in the Carlysle House by the two families.You
are also shown the many oil related investments that took place
between the two families. One of the most interesting parts of the book is 140 Saudis,some of them relatives of Osama bin-Laden
being allowed to fly out of the country after the 9-11 attacks.
This is a very readable book.I found it hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Blows your mind
Review: The author, using solid and extensive references, demonstrates year by year and step by step the evolution of the relationship between the Bush family and their associates with the House of Saud, and by extension, the house of bin Laden. The weight of the evidence that such an association exists is the sheer number of shared business endeavors, business associates (who are later appointed government officials) and mutual interests - too much for it to be coincidence. The consummation of this association is the outright courting (and winning) by the Bush campaign of the radical Muslim vote in Florida in 2000 and the subsequent loosening of immigration requirements for Saudi Arabians. The last chapter (I will not give it away) will sweep the reader into a dimension where the game of playing both sides by the rich and powerful (both Bush and Saud) comes suddenly crashing down in a deadly tragedy for thousands of Americans. Now we can see why Richard Clarke maintains the Bush administration did little pre-9/11 to pursue Al Qaida - what he doesn't say (but this book documents) is that Al Qaida is the stepchild of Saudi Arabian royalty, and that it is Saudi Arabian royalty that has helped propel the Bush family into power. A chilling read that explains so many questions we have. Read it, share it.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Crime In American History!
Review: In Craig Unger's book, he reveals an incredible link between Saudi money, and the last 40 years of the Bush family and their business dealings and investments. It turns out that Prescott Bush, the Senator from CT, and father of George Bush Sr. '41 was something else, before he retired to be a Senator from CT. He was the Managing Partner of Brown Brothers Harriman which is a private bank, used only by the rich and famous, as today, BBH will not take an account for less than $3 million in cash/securities.Through these money connections and through Bush '41 and Bush '43 oil connections, incredible amounts of Saudi money were invested in companies that were either owned by the Bush family or that the family had interest in. The biggest of these is the Carlyle Group, a giant private equity company. Unger estimates that $1.4 Billion was invested by Saudi's in the Carlyle Group which very much directly benefitted the Bush family. But the most interesting part of Unger's book, is the fact that it was published between that of O'Neill's book and Clarke's book, and thus got a bit of the short shrift in the marketing department. However, Unger's book supports both O'Neill's book and Clarke's book. Apparently, a little known fact is that during the period between 9/11 and 9/13/2001, there were several commercial non-military airplanes flying over the skies of the US of A. These planes contained members of the Saudi Royal Family and the Bin Laden family, who were congregating in Lexington, KY in readiness to evacuate the country. No one else was allowed to fly. Former President Clinton was stuck in Australia at the time and was not allowed to fly back in. Former V-P Al Gore was in Austria at the time and was not allowed to fly back in. But with White House approval, a bunch of Saudi's, about 140 all told, were not only allowed to fly during the no fly period, but some even left the country on 9/13, prior to Logan International being reopened for commercial traffic, with special White House Clearance. This event is what Unger characterizes as the "Greatest Crime In American History." When the country is devastated, when the vast majority of the hijackers and killers had been identified as Saudi Nationals, and in cooperation with Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, the White House lets 140 members of the Saudi Royal Family and members of the bin Laden family, to fly, unimpeded, around and out of the country. Unger's book gives excruciating detail about the connections between the Bush '43 administration and the Saudi Royal Family. In fact, George W. Bush was personal friends with Prince Bandar, as was his father. Unger explicitly indicates, that it is difficult to imagine that a President would act entirely in the national interest, when his personal interest is so tightly tied to the interests of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, in addition to the failure to develop a cohesive anti-terrorism plan, despite Richard Clarke's preparedness to do so at anytime, and his plan sitting doing nothing waiting for the NSC to review it, the Bush administration badly damaged our ability to really properly respond to a threat such as the type that Al Qaeda was and is involved in still to this day. And that the very funders of this terror are also the closest allies of the Bush family. And that this indeed seems to represent a serious conflict of interest for the President of the United States of America. This is recommended reading for all US citizens who want to have at least a glimpse of the truth, without nearly the spin that the White House is putting on its statements today in the news. It is highly recommended for its well researched factual revelations.
Rating:
Summary: wow.
Review: This book is powerful and gripping. I had no idea dealings were quite so "questionable" between these two powerful families.
This is a formidable exercise in "connect the dots" and "follow the money" that raises almost as many questions as it answers. For the first time someone has truly crafted a timeline of what happened when, where the money came from, where it went, and why oil is king. It will get you thinking, regardless of your political ideology.
Rating:
Summary: the financial and political alliance of the Bushes & Saudis
Review: Craig Unger has produced a solid and timely piece of reporting. There are really two levels to this sordid story -- 1) the alliance between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, based on OIL, and 2) the specific ties between the Bush family and the Saudi royal family, which rules Saudi Arabia and controls its vast oil wealth. So at the geostrategic level, the alliance and all its problems would still be with us even without the Bushes. However, in reality, the Bush family is deeply intertwined with the Saudis -- according to Unger, the Saudis are responsible for a significant part of the family's wealth, transferring $1.4 billion to the Bushes in various forms over the years. Saudi assistance included support for Bush Sr.'s Carlyle Group and Bush Jr.'s Harken Energy (his inside trading of which he was never prosecuted for). The most dramatic aspect of Unger's book is the documentation of the Bush Administration's facilitation of the evacuation of 140 Saudi nationals from the U.S. immediately following 9/11, including members of the (huge, influential) Bin Laden family, without questioning of any kind. This operation began between the 12th and the 14th, while U.S. airspace was supposed to be completely closed, and continued until September 20th. Another amazing revelation is the story of Prince Ahmed, one of the Saudis who got out of the U.S. in the days after 9/11. On March 28, 2002, Abu Zubaydah, a top al-Qaeda operative, was arrested in Pakistan. He was interrogated using sodium pentathol (truth serum), and named Prince Ahmed as al-Qaeda's link to the Saudi royal family. Zubaydah said Ahmed knew of 9/11 in advance, and that this knowledge constituted blackmail, a form of control over the Saudis. Prince Ahmed, a perfectly healthy 43 years old, died suspiciously on July 22, 2002, and two other Saudis named by Zubaydah died by the end of the year. Zubaydah also claimed that Osama had cut a deal for protection by the Pakistani Air Force Chief, Mushaf Ali Mir, who died in a mysterious plane crash on February 20, 2003. What might these Saudi and Pakistani ghosts tell us about the real nature of our two "allies"? Remember, the U.S., Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were partners in supporting the mujahadeen fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s -- and Osama Bin Laden's militant career began as part of that 3-way alliance. In closing, why is it that the Bush Administration was so opposed to an official investigation of 9/11? Remember, the 9/11 hijackers were mostly Saudis, and a few Egyptians -- no Iraqis or Afghans. Why did the Administration black out the section in the Congressional investigation of 9/11 about the nature of U.S.-Saudi relations? What secrets are the House of Bush and the House of Saud hiding from their respective peoples and the rest of the world?
Rating:
Summary: Don't beleive the 1 star from 'a reader' from NY
Review: The reader from NY who gave this book one star obviously did not bother to read the entire book before he wrote his review.
Had he bothered, he would have seen that Perle, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz were accurately portrayed in this book as PNAC hawks whose goal is global US hegemony. They were not involved in the Bush-Baker-Saudi financial linkages. This book is extremely well documented and footnoted. Its resources are impeccable and where there is doubt, the author duly notes it. It is an indictment of decades of Saudi influence over the Bush family and should be read by anyone interested in Richard Clarke's 'Against All Enemies'. These two books compliment each other very well and together present a complete, albeit very disturbing, picture of the real events behind 9/11.
Rating:
Summary: amBushed
Review: Great read, amazing info. Some of it we know from the few newspapers that weren't asleep for the last two years, the rest we'll read about as the campaigns gear up. It's important information for everyone who wants to know how the US became so entangled in the Mideast, why, and most important, by whom.
Rating: 
Summary: Saudi bashing at it's worst.
Review: Although I thought the book would be thought provoking at first, I quickly got the impression as I delved into the first few pages that that wasn't going to be the case. Unger uses the same recycled conspiracy theories and accusations against the Saudis that was prevalent immediately after the 9/11 attack. He accuses the Bush administration for not going hard enough on the Saudis because of his "close oil business relationship" with the royal family. If that were the case, why was Saudi Arabia denounced, smeared, and up until the present day described as a hotbed of al Qaeda militancy by his administration? Why did Rumsfeld, Perle, and Wolfowitz hold Saudi Arabia directly responsible for sponsoring terrorism when they provided funds (by holding a telethon) for Palestinian victims of Israeli atrocities in the occupied territories in early 2002? The fact of the matter is the President of the United States would be impeached by the heavily pro-Israeli Congress if half the conspiracies conjectured by the author has some factual basis; which they of course are not.
Rating: 
Summary: good book
Review: this will tell you all you want to know , do not vote for bush.interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: The United States, Jihad, and Big Oil
Review: I suppose new revelations, both political and economic, come every day in the current post 9/11 environment. In this Election Year of 2004 it is refreshing to see a book come out revealing secret connections between the Bush Dynasty and the Saudi Family.Our profound dependence on oil supplies from this nation evidently set the stage for "special deals" as author Unger points out. Still, this is a capsule view of a much larger problem that exists throughout Islam - the rise of Fundamentalism. It is not a new phenomenon in Islamic history. Radicalism and the force of Jihad were a part of the fabric of Islamic politics for hundreds of years. It is only now at the start of the 21st century that America is now becoming aware of these forces as the result of 9/11 and terrorism. Saudi-Arabia, in particular is most vulnerable to the continuous stream of Fundamentalist rhetoric being echoed in its' major cities. An unemployment rate of 40% does not help any as bands of Saudi youth gather on the streets-jobless, hopeless and seething with hatred not only for the U.S. but for the Royal Family as well. Revolution and its' twin, Reform are in the air! Perhaps, Republican Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina phrased the problems of the Saudi-U.S. connection best: "Politicians had better ponder the economic calamity sure to occur in America if and when foreign producers ( Saudi-Arabia) shut off our oil supply..." I found Craig Unger's book: House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties a very eye-opening read. A very well-written and organized analysis of a special decades-long relationship. Murray S. Fradin, author of: JIHAD: The Mahdi Rebellion in the Sudan (2003)
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