ABSTRACT
State power played an important role in assuring that control, which rested both on America's special relationship with Saudi Arabia and on the ability and willingness of the United States and Britain to intervene in defense of their petroleum interests—as they did with the Mossadegh government in Iran between 1951 and 1953. The 1940s were critical years for United States foreign oil policy. Thus the history of American foreign oil policy in the 1940s contributes to our understanding of business-government relations in the formulation of foreign economic policy. The works under consideration greatly amplify previous accounts of the formation of the Petroleum Reserves Corporation, and correct those accounts in several important respects. Public initiatives having failed, the major oil companies took direct action to secure control over Saudi oil. United States oil policy is shaped both by state initiatives and by industry influence, with the industry in a consistently strong position.
