Blood and Oil in the Orient

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blood and Oil in the Orient (1930) was the first book published by Essad Bey, alter-ego of Lev Nussimbaum, who thus became a bestselling author in 1930s Germany.

It concerns the political history of Azerbaijan in the early 20th century and, in particular, the escape of Lev and his father across Central Asia, fleeing the Bolshevik take-over in Baku. Although the history is generally factual, the author makes more than a few autobiographical embellishments. For example, Essad writes as though he had already assumed his acquired Muslim identity and his father were a Muslim nobleman. Lev Nussimbaum's father, Abraham, was a Jew born at Tiflis, Georgia, in 1875.

Initial reviews were mostly favorable, although the work did stir up some politically-motivated controversy about a "Jewish forger."