A READER’S DISCUSSION GUIDE
The Sentinels: Crude Deception, a World War II–era thriller that combines politics, business, and history, has relevance for our world today. One of its themes is the issue of unbridled greed and how secret circles of a handful of wealthy individuals—in this case, as part of a monopoly of oil conglomerates—run the world.
A group of six graduates of an elite American doctoral program, with ties to the global financial community, the Sentinels learn of this “Oil Club” and its plan to perpetuate its control over 90 percent of the world’s future oil production. To prevent this dangerous concentration of power in the hands of seven incestuous companies, the Sentinels develop a plan to break the club’s grip. That plan requires the cooperation of some of the world’s most powerful private investors, government officials, and Middle Eastern leaders, plus the help of grassroots America.
To implement their plan, the band of six econ wizards/friends must rally support over four continents—in the jungles of Indonesia, the corporate boardrooms of America, Europe, and Asia, and the desert of the Western frontier—all the while eluding the constant threat of ruthless assassins hired by the Oil Club. Together they take on a Goliath of skyscraper proportion—and prevail.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
When the novel opens in 1946, the world’s seven biggest oil companies—united in what the Sentinels dub the “Oil Club”—secretly plan to perpetuate their control over 90 percent of the world’s future oil production. How do we the people protect ourselves from the secret agendas of concentrated wealth and influence in their quest of unbridled greed?
Author Gordon Zuckerman has said, “Americans should be concerned about the consequences of nine-tenths of the world’s oil supply being concentrated in the hands of a limited number of oil companies and sovereign countries.” Do you share his concern, and what do you think should be done about it?
Are their aspects of the Sentinels’ plan that you think need to be implemented today? Who would you trust to solve the problems?”
Were the Sentinels’ efforts to garner the cooperation of powerful private investors, government officials, and Middle Eastern leaders plausible?
Do you feel that the Sentinels’ efforts to generate grassroots support for constructive legislation are required in today’s political environment?
What role do you think the “national press” should play in informing the public of the real story behind the story, as the New York Times journalist Walter Matthews did in the book?
What other industries do you see where power is concentrated in just a few individuals or nations?
Who do you think will step forward in our modern world in the way the heroes of Crude Deception do?
What happens when government and big business can’t provide a solution to a pressing problem? Should the void be filled by an independent group?
Did you take away ideas from this thriller that could actually be applied to help you move away from a dependency on oil for your energy needs?
How would you describe the relationships among the six Sentinels? Do you agree that it was necessary for that band of economics wizards to invite new members from the UK into their circle to achieve their goal of foiling the Oil Club?
Which character best represents your attitude toward the Oil Club? Did you agree with his/her proposal for preventing the monopoly from attaining world domination?
AUTHOR Q&A
1. Why have you chosen to write historical fiction? Is it more challenging than writing science fiction or a totally fictitious thriller, do you think?
With an ever-increasing exposure to life and my growing experience, I couldn’t help believing that there is a need to better understand the circumstances and the significance of some of the more important events of our times. Having been exposed to the influential power of the oil lobby, I decided to study the general concept of hidden power. The more I learned, the more convinced I became that I wanted to find a way to tell the stories behind the stories. The idea of using the evolving lives of the main characters as fiction vehicles to tell what I regard as serious stories just evolved.
2. Does your academic background and work history specifically drive your creation of characters and plots and alternative outcomes?
Unquestionably, the stories, the plots, and the composite makeup of my characters have been derived from observations along the way on my life’s journey.
3. Have you always been telling stories or writing them since childhood, or is writing a craft you’ve been drawn to in retirement?
I always found my former life to be so active and demanding, with the exception of being a lifelong student of history, I never had the time to do the applied research and the writing required to pursue my other curiosities. Following my retirement, I have the time to pursue hidden interests that seem to be bubbling to the surface.
4. How do you go about researching the little-known details regarding extremely familiar topics, such as World War II, that can capture your readers’ interest and surprise them?
A new idea can pop to the surface from almost anywhere. Some result from things I’ve encountered and experienced in an active life filled with diverse interests and interesting people. Of particular interest, I have been fascinated by the general subject of responsible and able leadership. I find it difficult to talk about personal leadership without becoming involved in a person’s career and his or her emotional and personal development.
With the availability now of extra time, coupled with all the wonderful resources offered by published books, the plethora of Web-based information, and travel and continued interaction with interesting friends and new acquaintances, I find I’m provided with more information than one person can possibly absorb.
5. Are the goals for your stories to forewarn society not to repeat history? Simply to entertain? To actually offer ideas for solving contemporary problems in the business world and in world economies?
The more I read and learn, the more impressed I have become by and convinced that our great gift of democratic free enterprise represents a special and delicate opportunity. In America, it can be used to create great wealth as a result of better fulfilling public need. It can also be used to create wealth at the expense of the public’s best interests. The presence or absence of responsible and competent leadership can determine whether the quest of free enterprise produces another constructive brick in our country’s great house or provides the next great challenge that must be overcome.
6. Your novels feature characters from the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the Far East. Have you traveled to all of those regions to collect details about language nuances, customs, art and culture, and business practices to add authenticity to your characters and story lines?
There are some people who have accused me of living a life of anecdotes to support my writing of books.
7. Are there aspects from different stages of your career in business and finance that emerge in one or more of the characters you’ve created?
When I look back over my life, I sometimes think of it as a series of different kinds of speed bumps, each of which required the achievement of some special learning experience.
The composite characters, the problem solving, the evolution of their lives, their observations, their reactions, and the reactions of others have been drawn from the challenge of the ever-increasing size of life’s obstacles and challenges.
8. What genre(s) do you pick up for leisure reading? Who are your favorite authors and what are some of your favorite books?
There are highly capable historians who make history as exciting as any mystery: William Manchester, James Michener, Ron Chernow, Daniel Yergin, and Aron Sorkin. Likewise, there are historical novelists—Herman Wouk, Wilbur Smith, Tom Clancy, Leon Uris—who have learned to illustrate history through the lives of their main characters. And, there are the mystery writers Ken Follett, Fredrick Forsyth, and Fletcher Knebel, for purely
great reads.
9. Do you think this nation is on the right track regarding alternative sources of energy so we are not as oil dependent as we were, say, at the end of World War II?
In a world of managed energy scarcity, he who owns the energy can fix production costs, pursue power, and wage war. In a shrinking world of growing environmental concerns and expanding energy needs, it’s not a question of replacing historical forms of power with cleaner power; it’s learning how to use all sources of power on both an economic and an environmentally sensitive basis to meet our needs of reliable sources of affordable power.
10. If you had one word of advice for recent college graduates today, what would it be?
Take a more active and objective interest in the world that is evolving around you. Never in the course of history have we been more susceptible to irresponsible agendas of concentrated wealth and influence, nor have we been faced with greater challenges. Constantly question what you can do to become one of life’s “rainmakers.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gordon Zuckerman, a graduate of Harvard Business School, has studied banking, international finance, and history extensively, focusing on how wealth and governmental machinations can advance private agendas that conflict with public interest. He lives with his wife in northern Nevada.
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