House of Bush, House of Saud The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties

Newsbreaking and controversial -- an award-winninginvestigative journalist uncovers the thirty-year relationshipbetween the Bush family and the House of Saud andexplains its impact on American foreign policy, business,and national security.House of Bush, House of Saudbegins with a politicallyexplosive question: How is it that two days after 9/11,when U.S. air traffic was tightly restricted, 140 Saudis,many immediate kin to Osama Bin Laden, were permitted toleave the country without being questioned by U.S. intelligence?The answer lies in a hidden relationship that began in the1970s, when the oil-rich House of Saud began courtingAmerican politicians in a bid for military protection, influence,and investment opportunity. With the Bush family, the Saudishit a gusher -- direct access to presidents Reagan, George H.W.Bush, and George W. Bush. To trace the amazing weave of Saud-Bush connections, Unger interviewed three former directors ofthe CIA, top Saudi and Israeli intelligence officials, and morethan one hundred other sources. His access to major players isunparalleled and often exclusive -- including executives at theCarlyle Group, the giant investment firm where the House ofBush and the House of Saud each has a major stake.Like Bob Woodward'sThe Veil,Unger'sHouse of Bush, Houseof Saudfeatures unprecedented reportage; like Michael Moore'sDude, Where's My Country?Unger's book offers a politicalcounter-narrative to official explanations; this deeply sourcedaccount has already been cited by Senators Hillary RodhamClinton and Charles Schumer, and sets 9/11, the two Gulf Wars,and the ongoing Middle East crisis in a new context: Whatreally happened when America's most powerful political familybecame seduced by its Saudi counterparts?

Craig Unger appears frequently as an analyst on terrorism, Saudi-American relations, and the oil industry on CNN, the ABC Radio Network, and other broadcast outlets. The former deputy editor of the New York Observer and editor-in-chief of Boston Magazine, he has written about George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush for the New Yorker, Esquire, and Vanity Fair. He lives in New York City.