Oman Emerges
Part memoir, part case-study, Oman Emerges is an absorbing account of how a little-known but strategic Arab country began transforming itself from ancient kingdom into a modern petropower as told through the experiences of an American advisor to the Sultan during the oil crises of the 70s and 80s. A burr under the oil industry s saddle, James Critchfield pressed for more judicious development of the sultanate's two most valuable resources oil and water even as competing constituencies insisted on quick fixes. --Anna Rubino, author of Queen of the Oil Club: The Intrepid Wanda Jablonski and the Power of InformationAs a senior CIA officer and later as head of Tetra Tech International in Oman, James Critchfield consistently spoke truth to power. In Oman Emerges, Lois Critchfield offers a compelling and meticulously documented account of how TTI succeeded in the delicate craft of persuasion in high places and how it got things done. In helping craft long-term strategies for oil, water, and the development of Oman s remote places, TTI played a key role in making Oman what it is today. --Dale F. Eickelman, Lazarus Professor of Anthropology and Human Relations, Dartmouth CollegeLois Critchfield has drawn upon the enormous and valuable cache of materials gathered by her late husband, James Critchfield, to produce an important book about the development of Oman. The experiences and first-hand knowledge of the Critchfields provides a rare understanding of this geostrategically-significant country. --James A. Bill, Professor Emeritus, College of William and Mary