Beacon Press: Queen of the Oil Club
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Queen of the Oil Club

The Intrepid Wanda Jablonski and the Power of Information

Author: Anna Rubino   Foreword by: Daniel Yergin

The first biography of a journalist, publisher, and power broker so influential in the oil world that she was called the midwife of OPEC

This is the story of a gutsy journalist who challenged power-and succeeded. Wanda Jablonski was an investigative reporter, publisher, and power broker who came to wield exceptional influence on twentieth-century geopolitics by shedding light on the secretive world of oil from the 1950s through the 1980s. Jablonski unveiled many mysteries of the oil club, an elite group of Western executives who once controlled the international petroleum business.

Nicknamed the midwife of OPEC, Jablonski undermined Big Oil’s dominance by exposing the vulnerabilities of the major oil companies and encouraging the rise of oil nationalism. Her scoops, commentaries, and private networking helped shape the debate that led to the creation of OPEC, the oil shocks of the 1970s, and the largest transfer of wealth in history.

Tenacious and glamorous, Wanda-as she was known in the oil world-coaxed her way into exploration sites in Middle Eastern deserts, drilling camps in the Venezuelan jungle, male-only boardrooms in New York and London, and the king’s harem in Saudi Arabia. She survived threats, boycotts, and suspicions of espionage as she elicited information and insight from CEOs of the oil giants and political leaders, including the shah of Iran.

Working for the Journal of Commerce and other New York publications, Jablonski defied the prevailing view that a woman reporting on business had no credibility. In 1961, divorced and suddenly jobless, she took a big gamble by starting her own newsletter, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, which was soon dubbed the “bible” of the oil world.

Today, when conflict in the Middle East and climate change cause us to reexamine our reliance on oil, Jablonski’s prescience-whether about oil dependency, cultural insensitivity, or market manipulation-proves remarkable.

Anna Rubino, who reported for Jablonski in the 1980s, uses scores of interviews, exclusive access to her private papers, and newly declassified information to tell the dramatic story of this journalistic pioneer and the power of information.
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“Wanda Jablonski was one of a kind—a reporter who revealed the secret world of the oil business, a woman who penetrated the inner sanctums of the Arab oil sheiks, and an entrepreneur who created a publication that was the industry’s bible. Jablonski’s colorful career comes alive in Anna Rubino’s richly reported biography.” —David Ignatius, columnist for the Washington Post and author of Body of Lies: A Novel

“A page-turner and a substantive biography, Queen of the Oil Club makes Middle East oil history come alive through the eyes of a truly trailblazing woman journalist.” —Ambassador Connie Morella, former Maryland congresswoman

“Part detective story and part political thriller, Queen of the Oil Club is the true account of the most influential woman of the early oil age. It’s a book you can’t miss.” —Gregg Easterbrook, author of The Progress Paradox

“What a fascinating story and what a remarkable woman! Before women were even allowed to join the National Press Club, Wanda Jablonski managed, through determination, hard work, and excellent reporting, to overcome the odds and become one of the most influential journalists in our history. Jablonski not only chronicled the growth of the oil industry, she helped shape it—and brought oil barons to their knees.” —Bill Press, political commentator, author, and radio host of The Bill Press Show

“A gem of a book about a remarkable woman and the shadowy world of oil and global politics. Anna Rubino has followed in Wanda Jablonski’s footsteps, mining the data and presenting a fascinating story.” —Rachel Bronson, author of Thicker than Oil: America’s Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia

Reviews

Review: More Magazine - June 1, 2008
“This lively biography of journalist Wanda Jablonski begs for a big-screen adaptation. In the 1950s, when women were rarely hired as business reporters, Jablonski became a force in the oil industry, boldly investigating deals and tracking the trade from London to Abu Dhabi.”

Review by: Donna Seaman, Booklist - April 15, 2008
“Rubino, who worked with Jablonski on her innovative industry newsletter, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, has written the first major biography of this irresistible trailblazer and it is galvanizing in its revelations . As she vividly portrays Wanda in all her toughness and loneliness, Rubino recognizes the depth of Wanda’s commitment to accurately and respectfully portraying the cultures of the Middle East and her belief that a nuanced understanding of this pivotal region was essential to world politics. In that, of course, this woman who was accused of being a spy and called “OPEC’s midwife” was only too prescient.”

Review: Kirkus - April 15, 2008
"How one woman hurdled journalism’s gender barrier to help shape the future of Big Oil...Intimate but also sweeping, capturing the myopia of both business and government as America’s addiction to foreign oil set in over four decades."
—Kirkus
  • Read a review of Queen of the Oil Club in the Dallas Morning News
  • Read an interview with Anna Rubino in the Houston Chronicle
Anna Rubino on C-SPAN's Book TV


For more information, visit www.queenoftheoilclub.com.

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Queen of the Oil Club

ISBN: 978-080707277-6
 Publication Date: 6/1/2008
 Pages: 360
 Size:6 x 9 Inches (US)
Price:  $29.95
Format: Cloth
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