Pipe Dreams, Erin Banco
Pipe Dreams, Erin Banco
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Pipe Dreams
The Plundering of Iraq's Oil Wealth

Author: Erin Banco

Narrator: Laura Jennings

Unabridged: 3 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/27/2018


Synopsis

When the Bush Administration invaded Iraq in 2003, it was promised that Iraqi Kurdistan would be developed into one of the most productive oil and natural gas regions in the world, and the profits would be used to win the war and rebuild the country. More than ten years later, those dreams lie in tatters. What happened to the oil wealth?Based on exclusive troves of documents and sources in the Iraqi and U.S. governments, investigative reporter Erin Banco tells the story of how rampant corruption and gross mismanagement have sucked billions upon billions of dollars from Kurdistan’s and Iraq’s oil coffers—and how local people are suffering as a result.

About Erin Banco

Erin Banco is an investigative reporter at the Star Ledger and NJ.com, where she focuses on the intersection of money and government. A former fellow at The New York Times and the Middle East correspondent for International Business Times, she has covered armed conflict and human rights violations in the Middle East for years. She is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Melkor on June 23, 2018

In this short work Mr. Banco sets out to expose corruption, not just in Baghdad but in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government. This is an important work, as with all of the corruption and scandal in the Iraqi capital, the northern autonomous region is often overlooked by the West, unles......more

Goodreads review by Geoffrey on August 03, 2023

With all the political squabbling,, Kurdistan corruption, and shady government dealings with less-than-honest energy companies that are covered here in this book, I personally would have liked to see a little more attention given to the growing suffering among the people that is the result of it all......more

Goodreads review by B on February 05, 2023

While the topic of this book is of little interest to me, I found that the author does an excellent research and a succinct analysis of how the Kurdish landlords that appeared in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq exploit most of the oil reserves in northern part of the country (through variou......more

Goodreads review by Bookworm Between the Sheets on July 31, 2018

Well I will never think the same inconsequential thoughts when filling up my gas tank anymore. This book gives you a base of what led to the demise of the failing oil market in the Middle East. This book discusses outside political entaglements, military involvement, and the war all taking its piece......more

Goodreads review by Lucille on June 28, 2024

The title is misleading, because it's really a deep dive into Kurdish-Iraqi relations, the impact of ISIS, and the Kurdish local authorities in the light of oil issues. It does not talk about the broader issues of Iraqi oil with any detail. Nonetheless, as an investigative book on Kurdish corruption......more