ARAMCO: Above the Oil Fields Hardcover – August 22, 2017

This work definitely is most appropriate for Aramcons (or folks who want to understand us better lol). I'm not sure an audience outside of that would rank this work as highly.Because a 'look inside' is not possible, I'll try and add as much detail as possible. A really unique part is that the author has included reproductions of ephemera from her grade school work to receipts from film developing in arabic and English. These are oddly sized and are nice treats as you flip through the book. The photos are of the very mundane which was the appeal to me- there are multiple photos of the ever present 'caution-gas line' signs, the houses in the hills (sadly not my little windmill abode), respectful photos of ex-pats and Saudis in Abaya and Nicab going about every day errands, photos of expat youth playing on their sports teams, etc. . Honestly, I did not take many photos of the mundane so when folks ask me what it was like, I'm pleased to now have this book. I have to say the photo of LuLu's made me a bit teary because I always went there when I felt homesick- because a westernized market and Cinnabon fixes everything- I oddly miss LuLu's. I wish there could have been a photo of those ever present gates...to me passing through those gates really is a symbol of my time there... but know photography is not allowed for security reasons so I didn't expect they would have made the cut. My favorite part was an interview in the back where the author provides some insight into her thoughts of not being able to 'visit' where she lived for 22 years- it's also interesting that she addresses how living in DH has changed from her time there. I think the article will provide much context for folks who fall slightly outside the time range of her experience. Lastly, there is also text in the back that provides a brief history of Aramco which is again helpful for non Aramcons but I think we've all heard it...many times... so I appreciated it was short, sweet, and to the point.I only went for a 4 over a 5 because I found the portraits, of which there are quite a few, less interesting for me as someone seeking a memoir of my time in DH. They are beautiful though and add a human element to the work.

I lived in Dhahran for years, have very fond memories of the place, and am presumably a member of the intended audience for this book.Such a disappointment. It is, as noted elsewhere, a scrapbook of family photos, most of no real interest. Pictures of refrigerator doors, badly cropped group shots of adolescents in sports gear, a pair of New Balance sneakers sitting on top of a washing machine. Amazingly, given the price, many pages have no photo at all. At least three pages are devoted to photos of the envelopes in which a developer returned photos. A few stray reproductions of singularly dull ephemera (a child's fan letter to Leonardo DiCaprio, newspaper clippings about a horse) round out the scrapbook effect.Anything else by way of documentation here? Well, an "index of photos" informs the proud owner of this very large, very fuzzy pink book that page 35 is, in fact, a "Kodak envelope," while the photo on page 48 is indexed as "toy car." Two pages of Wikipedia-level intro to Aramco's history gives way to a maundering "author interview," with the standard heavy breathing about identity and home.Jaysus. In short, expensive, superficial and inexplicably ugly. Not a book you'll want to keep on hand, unless you're actually a member of the Malik family or one of the author's three closest friends.

I had high hopes for this book, as I spent many years in Saudi and a year in Dhahran. As another reviewer mentioned, this is more of a family photo album than something that I would expect to buy at a bookstore.There were some photos that were good for reminiscing, but many were random people without much context or background story. This is not to say that the people don't have sentimental or deep meaning to the author, but it was just hard as a reader to draw much feeling from the photos.

Everything was done exceptionally. Great service product and experience all around. I would purchase from this seller again.

I was very disappointed in this book. I thought it would have photos of the different buildings and housing of Aramco, as well as some of the oil fields and other surrounding places of interest in the dhahran area. Much of it is a collection of photos of people I don’t know. :(

Fascinating. Probably I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I hadn't lived there.

A beautiful book full of candid images, memories and subtle perspectives on life inside Aramco. The end result is a emotional journey to a unique yet universally familiar town through the eyes of a talented photographer and visual storyteller. Well done!

unfortunately, I have to say honestly that I'M very dissapointed with the book. it's huge, heavy, mostly family photos, not much written interesting information about Aramco....

A book I was looking forward to reading, but it was a Big let down. As mentioned before, it just seemed a Private scrapbook being published, and a Very expensive One indeed.I know less about Aramco in Dhahran now than I did when I first knew about it in 1971.... Not a mention about HZ 22 TV either !!!!