Heart and Soul: A Memoir

Born in a tiny fishing village on the Arabian Gulf, Ali Baluchi was only a few years old when the first geologists from California arrived in Saudi Arabia to search for and, in 1938, discover the oil that would later bring great prosperity to the kingdom. As the company grew, so too did the need for a trained Saudi workforce, and in the 1940s Baluchi was among the early cohorts of young Saudis who entered Aramco-sponsored schools. There, American expatriates taught him English and honed the skills that he used to rise to management positions. Filled with insights into the culture in which he was raised, Baluchi’s memoir focuses primarily on the close friendships that developed between Aramco’s expatriate pioneers and Saudi nationals as they worked together to create one of the most successful companies in the world today.