Levine, Steve 1957-

PERSONAL:

Born March 7, 1957; married Nurilda Nurlybayeva; children: two daughters.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Washington, DC.

CAREER:

Journalist. Business Week, Washington, DC, journalist covering foreign affairs and energy; previously worked as a foreign correspondent for various publications, including Newsday, covering the Philippines, 1985-88, and Newsweek, covering Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1988-91; ran the local bureau and covered Central Asia and the Caucasus for first the New York Times and then the Wall Street Journal, 1991-2003.

WRITINGS:

The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea, Random House (New York, NY), 2007.

Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia, Random House (New York, NY), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Journalist Steve LeVine serves as a writer for Business Week magazine, where he primarily covers issues pertaining to energy and to foreign affairs. Prior to taking the position, he worked primarily as a foreign correspondent for a variety of publications. From 1985 to 1988, he wrote for Newsday, covering the Philippines. Following that, he spent several years covering both Pakistan and Afghanistan for Newsweek. In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, LeVine began covering the Caucasus and Central Asia, running first the local bureau of the New York Times and then taking charge of the Wall Street Journal bureau for the same region. Due to the high levels of civil unrest and wars in the area at the time of his arrival, he primarily covered the political situation for the first few years he spent in the eight-nation region. In 2003, he returned to the United States, where he settled in Washington, DC. In addition to his journalistic endeavors, LeVine is the author of The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea and Putin's Labyrinth: Spies, Murder, and the Dark Heart of the New Russia, both books that rely heavily on the unique access he gained through his work as a correspondent.

The Oil and the Glory addresses the global concern regarding the supply of oil and other energy sources, focusing especially on the large reserves of both oil and gas that have recently been discovered in the countries that border the Caspian Sea, in particular Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Due to the riches available below ground in these countries, both the United States and Russia have shown an immense amount of interest in gaining control over the region, thereby gaining an edge over the rest of the world regarding access to those reserves. While the nations were still part of the Soviet Union, the United States refrained from pushing the issue, however it was ample motivation to back any rebellions within those nations as they sought independence. In addition, as gas and oil shortages become more apparent and prices for fuel continue to skyrocket, other countries, such as India and China, have become more aware of the oil availability in these former Soviet satellites and have begun to send representatives to bargain in hopes of gaining their own edge, particularly as the need for energy grows exponentially within their borders due to population increases and the improvement and greater availability of technology and luxuries. LeVine mines the wealth of knowledge he gained as a correspondent in this part of the world to offer readers a detailed history of the area as well as a thorough understanding of the political issues involved for the people who live in these nations. Julie Triedman, writing for Corporate Counsel, commented that LeVine's work "draws on extensive original interviews with many of the primary industry and government players as well as news and historical archives. Best of all, the tale is one that, to most of us, is brand-new." Booklist contributor Gilbert Taylor wrote that "with the business press regularly headlining Caspian events, LeVine's current history is valuable background." Robert M. Cutler, in a review for the Middle East Journal, observed that "the fact that LeVine builds his book upon interviews means that much of the book is focused on the activities of individuals and their personalities. This is not a problem, but it does mean that the ‘long view’ is absent." A contributor for Kirkus Reviews dubbed LeVine's effort "a complex story rendered comprehensible, with much drama and intrigue."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 2007, Gilbert Taylor, review of The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea, p. 28.

Business Week, November 12, 2007, Stanley Reed, "The Oil Rush to the Caspian Sea; Since the Soviet Collapse, the Region Has Been a Magnet for Daredevil Characters and Dubious Practices," p. 130.

Corporate Counsel, March 1, 2008, Julie Triedman, review of The Oil and the Glory, p. 111.

Dallas Morning News, December 5, 2007, "‘The Oil and the Glory’: Complex Negotiations of Oil Industry Recounted in Fascinating, Nitty-gritty Detail."

Foreign Affairs, November 1, 2007, Robert Legvold, review of The Oil and the Glory.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2007, review of The Oil and the Glory.

Middle East Journal, January 1, 2008, Robert M. Cutler, review of The Oil and the Glory, p. 169.

Reference & Research Book News, February 1, 2008, review of The Oil and the Glory.

ONLINE

Critical Compendium,http://criticalcompendium.com/ (February 17, 2008), Shawn A. Miller, author interview.

Harper's Online,http://harpers.org/ (November 7, 2007), Scott Horton, "Six Questions for Steve LeVine, Author of ‘The Oil and the Glory.’"

Oil and Glory Home Page,http://oilandglory.com (July 25, 2008).

Registan,http://www.registan.net/ (October 21, 2007), review of The Oil and the Glory.

San Francisco Chronicle Online,http://www.sfgate.com/ (December 9, 2007), Kelly McEvers, review of The Oil and the Glory.