Blood and Oil in the Orient

by Essad Bey, Tom Reiss (Editor)

An Autobiography like Something Out of the Arabian Nights In this lively and witty autobiography, Essad Bey, a.k.a. Lev Nussimbaum, tells us the story of his childhood in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and of his flight from the Russian Revolution in 1917, which brought him first straight through the Caucasus, then to Istanbul - where this book concludes - and finally to Berlin. When Essad Bey speaks of the people of the Caucasus and their customs so strange to us, a sort of anthropological cabinet of curiosities unfolds before our eyes, and we cannot help but be astonished. All the while, through his affectionate and sometimes openly ironic words, even the excesses of the Revolution sound like children's pranks and his hair-raising escape like an adventure novel. "Blood and Oil in the Orient" is an informative and entertaining book; in the 1930s, it was a bestseller in the U.S. and Germany.

Genres: Russia, Nonfiction, History, Biography

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Lev Nussimbaum (1905 - 1942) was a prolific Jewish writer who reinvented himself as a Muslim under the pseudonyms Essad Bey and Kurban Said. Despite his being an ethnic Jew, his politics were such that, before his origins were discovered, the Nazi propaganda ministry included his works on their list of "excellent books for German minds".

Reviews

[Michael McCue · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Blood and Oil was supposed to be autobiographical non fiction much of it is made up by the author. The author Essad Bey was really born Lev Nussimbaum. He claimed to be a Muslim of noble birth but he was really jewish. His father really did become wealthy in the oil industry of the in the Russian Empire before the Russian Revolution. Lev Nussimbaum/Essad Bey's life is examined in the recent book the Orientalist. After reading the Orientalist by Tom Reiss I wanted to read something by Essad Bey, go to the source and see the original. Even if it is made up it is still an amazing tale of travel and escape from the communists.

[Anastasios Kovoussoglou · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Öl und Blut im Orient nimmt Essad Bey dich mit an die Schauplätze, wo das „schwarze Gold“ ganze Völker veränderte. Mitreißend, dramatisch und voller exotischer Details entfaltet er ein Panorama von Macht, Intrigen und Abenteuer. Keine trockene Geschichtsstunde, sondern ein packender Blick hinter die Kulissen des Ölbooms. Wer Spannung, Atmosphäre und historische Dramatik liebt, wird dieses Buch verschlingen.

[Petra Škuljević · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed thoroughly the stories of Oriental cities, customs, legends. The writing is witty, entertaining and informative. I learned a lot about the history and culture of areas that I didn't know of. Definitely recommend!!

[Ramin Lev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional story about the Baku oil boom and Azerbaijan of 1900s! Besides that, the novel speaks about the Iran, Georgia and Central Asia etc. of that time.

[Paul Pellicci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it....

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, Blood and Oil in the Orient, was beyond fantastic.

A few words of explanation or necessary about the author. The given name of the author is Mohammed Essad Bey. As disclosed and discovered by research of Thomas Reiss, detailed in a book called The Orientalist, a Jewish writer by the name of Lev Nussenbaum wrote under pen names Mohammed Essad Bey and Kurbain Said. Lev Nussenbaum was born in Baku, Azerbaijan. He and his father were forced to flee twice from Baku, the second time permanently. The book is largely the story of his pre-flight childhood in Baku, and the two flights. The sub text is the destruction and carnage caused by Joseph Stalin‘s Bolsheviks in that region.Separately, he wrote Stalin-the Making of a Fanatic. I have read that book and highly recommend that as well.

In the area in which he was doing his writing, from the late 1920s to the time of his death in 1941 or 1942, being a Jewish writer in places such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, Germany and Italy was not a good idea. Though the book is autobiographical in nature, it was necessary for him to fictionalize or distort his early history for that reason.

Parts of the book read like a triple version of National Geographic magazine. Other parts or a hair-raising adventure tale of flights through dangerous regions such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, and modern-day Iran.

The book has numerous humorous and amusing turns. Thomas Reiss has written a very useful afterword to the book. For someone who wants to read unconventional material, about little known subjects, from a fresh point of view, I highly recommend this book.

[Marcel Lewicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing account of childhood and adolesence in multi-cultural Baku. The veracity especially of the story of his escape has been questioned -- the author was known as a bit of a con man in Berlin, after all --, which makes it an even more entertaining read. "Kurban Said" finally ended up in Positano, Italy, where his grave overlooks the Amalfi coast.

[Tim TERMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fine book from the early days of the oil boom in the Middle East. I believe it was a true story.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written back in another era and is one person's story of growing up the the Middle East oil boom.

[Catherine Cleeve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but not written in an engaging style. The story flowed, but narrative didn't - I found it hard to plough through.