Oil in Texas: Slick and dirty

From Big Rich to humdrum rich WHAT’S not to enjoy about a book full of monstrous egos, unimaginable sums of money and the punishment of greed and shortsightedness by the march of events? Bryan Burrough, a former Wall Street Journal correspondent and one of the two writers behind the hugely successful “Barbarians at the Gate”, which recounted the vast and ultimately doomed buy-out of RJR Nabisco, now offers another cautionary tale. This one is even larger in scope, and tells the story of the rise and fall of four of the giant oil families of Texas. It is a ripping, if sometimes confusing, read from start to finish. At the end of it those of less ample fortunes will feel their Schadenfreude richly indulged. “The Big Rich” charts the story of Haroldson “H.L.” Hunt (and his sons, including the notorious Nelson Bunker Hunt, best known for his disastrous attempt to corner the silver market in 1979-80) and three other less well-known oil men: Sid Richardson, Clint ... (link)