Title: Teapot Dome
First published: 1959
Description: This gem of a book covers the complicated dealings that resulted from the Teapot Dome (and Elk Hills) naval oil reserve grabs by some 1920s oilmen. And, it covers them from the investigative and legal standpoint, following the investigators hired by the Senator Walsh led committee to root out just how many millions of dollars changed hands under the guise of preserving the nation's petroleum reserves for the fleet.

Written by a couple of newspaper men, the style is very readable. You do have to get re-accustomed to the archaic practice of having everyone of social importance being referred to by their title (i.e., Secretary of the Interior Fall is usually called "Senator Fall", even though he resigned from the Senate upon his appointment to Interior), while mere mortals only merit the use of their last names. After a while, the various judges, senators and colonels all tend to blend together - a "hard to tell the players without a scorecard" sort of dilemma. Other than that, the book's style is first rate and easy to read in the bargain.

With a focus upon the machinations of Secretaries Fall, Mellon, and Denby, Attorney General Daughterty, and oilmen Doheny, Sinclair and Osler, the authors step through the stages of the scandal, with only a brief chapter of summary dealing with the mess that was the Harding Administration. Fall's neck deep involvement in the whole thing is covered in great depth; indeed, the book uses Fall's career as a sort of armature from which to hang the rest of the story. The notorious Liberty Bonds, the financial instrument by which the conspirators hoped to launder their ill-gotten gains, are explained in full, along with the curious serial number anomaly that first brought the crime to light.

Most interesting are the activities of the four Secret Service agents loaned to the committee when it was found that the Justice Department (under Harding crony Harry Daughterty) could not be trusted to bring home the goods. You look over each agent's shoulder as they work hard to ferret out the financial transactions that were made to hide the money.

Then, the book ends with the civil and criminal trials, along with the curious outcome that one man was convicted of accepting a bribe while the man who offered it was found innocent. All in all, a great summing up of the "investigative" side of the affair.

Unlike modern books on Harding and his milieu, this book was written when many of the participants were still alive. The authors employed direct interviews with some of the participants, including the jurors involved in the trials. While much of what they have to say is part of the same old tale, there are plenty of fresh insights including, with particular attention to the investigations led by Senator Walsh and the prosecutors Roberts and Pomerene.

There are limited illustrations, with the major players depicted on the end papers and little else in the way of photos. However, scattered through the text are a number of the political cartoons of the day, amply illustrating the field day that newspapers had with the scandal.
Subjects: Teapot Dome Scandal, 1921-1924, Public lands, Petroleum, Teapot Dome Scandal (1921-1924) fast (OCoLC)fst01144703, Public lands, united states, Fall, albert bacon, 1861-1944
Places: United States
People: Albert B. Fall (1861-1944)