The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel: Romanovs, Revolutionaries, and the Forgotten Titan Who Fueled the World

by Douglas Brunt

From the author of the New York Times bestselling The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel comes the enthralling hidden history of one of the world’s most successful business titans, a rival to the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds, whose legacy was erased in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Russia, Business, Historical, European History

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2026

About the author

Douglas Brunt is an American novelist, historian, podcast host for SiriusXM, and entrepreneur. He was the CEO of Authentium, Inc., an Internet security company, which he sold in 2011.

Brunt is The New York Times bestselling author of fiction and nonfiction. His narrative history titles include THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF RUDOLF DIESEL and THE LOST EMPIRE OF EMANUEL NOBEL.

More information at www.douglasbrunt.com

Reviews

[Ted]

This is a well researched historical narrative that combines the biographies of three generations of the Nobel family with a history of the industrial empire they created in Tsarist Russia during the last half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. It also provides a broad overview of Russian history during this period with a focus on the policies and actions of the last four Romanov Tsars and the emergence of the social and political currents that led to the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917. The book is written in a non academic style that is easy to follow and consistently engaging. The Nobel family’s entrepreneurial acumen is presented in a manner that is always interesting, at times fascinating and more often than not, peppered with risk and drama. This is history written in a style that brings it to life. Kudos to the author for bringing the achievements of the Nobel family in Russia back from oblivion and into the limelight. 4+ stars

[Miranda]

I had a mixed reaction to Douglas Brunt’s Rudolf Diesel biography, but it was very readable and he had picked an interesting subject. His latest, about Emmanuel Nobel (nephew to Alfred Nobel, of the prizes), is a much improved effort. Once again, Brunt has chosen a fascinating, and as he persuasively argues, under known historical figure. The fascinating story of the Nobel family carries this book--Emmanuel Nobel’s petroleum empire was built from nothing, and at his zenith of power, he was mentioned alongside Standard Oil. But when the Russian Revolution came, he lost it all, and now it’s been largely forgotten by history.

Brunt’s writing is serviceable. It doesn’t get in the way, but it won’t stir your soul. If you’re not already sold on biographies of business tycoons, this book won’t make you a convert. But if you are interested, you will be entertained.

I received an advance copy in exchange for this honest review.

[Faith]

The Nobel family emigrated from Sweden to Russia where multiple members became captains of industry. Everything was lost in the Russian Revolution. I had never heard of this family, and unfortunately this book did not manage to make them interesting to me, and I did not care about the oil business. I was much more interested in the last part of the book that dealt with the Revolution.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[David Metcalf]

The most readable history of the late Tsar era and the Russian revolution that I’ve read.

[Chris]

"Many around the world recognize the Nobel name from the prestigious Nobel Prize, yet few know that Alfred's older brothers and nephew were the most powerful industrialists in the Russian Empire." This book focuses on the inventive family Nobel, and the politics, wars and technological developments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Both biography and history, its high level of intrigue never flags. Highly recommended...

[Sara H]

Really enjoyed the historical perspective of this one, and made the chaotic jump from Tsar to Lenin make a lot more sense.

[Abbie Lewis]

I enjoyed this book! Absolutely fascinating time in history and author did a fantastic job weaving it all together so seamlessly! I felt like I never missed anything and definitely has me wanting more history on this remarkably devastating time period… so many things happened!

[Jeff]

The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel: Romanovs, Revolutionaries, and the Forgotten Titan Who Fueled the World. Douglas Brunt. Atria Books, 2026. 368 pages.

Most people know of the Nobel prizes awarded each autumn in various fields of human achievement. Some know a little about Alfred Nobel, the inventor and industrialist who funded the awards in his will at least partly to assuage his guilt over profiting from manufacturing explosives. However, very few people are aware that the Nobels were a dominant, perhaps the most dominant, industrialist family in Europe, on par with, and often going head to head against the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds. The real driving force behind the Nobel wealth and power was actually Alfred's nephew Emanuel. He also is most responsible for the ensuring that the Nobel prizes exist. As the executor of his uncle's will, he was pressured by Alfred's heirs, and even the King of Sweden, to disregard the prizes, but Emanuel stood firm and created and served as the chief steward of the Nobel Prize and his uncle's legacy for the rest of his life. Emanuel was a visionary who built the largest oil industry in Russia and in Europe and amassed a huge fortune, while making powerful connections within the Russian bureaucracy and royal family, but he was not a "robber baron" in the American mold. Workers in Nobel industries were among the happiest, most loyal, and best taken care of in the world. Of course, all of that changed with World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the ensuing civil war. When it was all over, Emanuel was no longer an industrial titan, and he was relegated to being even less than a footnote in history. This excellent biography is extremely interesting and informative, and it offers at least some of the illumination that Nobel deserves.

[Edens Book Den]

History lovers, this one is absolutely worth picking up. It's packed with fascinating historical detail, but never once feels dry or textbook-like. The story unfolds with the momentum of fiction, full of larger-than-life figures, political tension, ambition, power struggles, and so much drama that I kept forgetting I was reading nonfiction. It's immersive, compelling, and one of those books where you keep saying "how did I never know this before?" Loved it!!

[Janet]

As a history nerd, this was an interesting read. I had no clue about the oil empire the Nobel family had in Tsarist Russia. The Russian Revolution sent this into a tailspin. History nerds will love this one.

[Amy]

Another well done deep dive into understanding a part of history and the world that explains so much of the world now. Brundt has shown the oil world this time and wow… so many things about the US and Russia suddenly make sense!

[Matthew]

I really enjoyed the author's prior book, the Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel (a book I would recommend to everyone), so it was an easy decision to give this newly released volume. It is not a sequel, although I found that having read the volume on Rudolf Diesel added useful background to this work. But this is the story of Emanuel Nobel (brother to Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite and founder of the Nobel Prize).

The story is a fascinating bit of history. And the author wrote it because so little is discussed or widely known about this industrial titan.

I did not think the book was quite as interesting as the Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel, but that may be due to the more satisfactory ending of the book on Diesel. It is still a worthwhile read - particularly if you enjoy history!

[Susan Dunn]

Douglas Brunt’s The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel: Romanovs, Revolutionaries, and the Forgotten Titan Who Fueled the World is a fascinating and well-researched historical nonfiction book that brings attention to a largely forgotten industrial empire. Brunt tells the story of Emanuel Nobel and his family’s rise in the Russian oil industry before the Bolshevik Revolution erased much of their legacy. The book combines biography, politics, and economic history in a way that feels engaging and surprisingly fast-paced. The inclusion of figures like Joseph Stalin adds another layer of intrigue to the story. While some sections become detailed with industrial history, the writing remains accessible and compelling throughout. Overall, it is an informative and captivating read for anyone interested in Russian history, oil empires, or overlooked historical figures.

[Brian Coats]

The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel by Douglas Brunt is both thoroughly entertaining and genuinely educational. Brunt delivers masterful storytelling that brings to life the incredible rise of Emanuel Nobel—a titan of the oil industry who rivaled the Rockefellers and Rothschilds—amid the opulence of the Romanovs and the chaos of revolution.
I loved learning about this forgotten chapter of history and how the forces that shaped the early 20th century still echo in today’s world of energy, power, and politics. If you enjoy gripping nonfiction that reads like a novel and illuminates the past’s relevance to the present, this book is a must-read. Highly recommended!

[Brittany]

I loved this book! Such a well done historical account that it feels like a story instead of a history book! I learned so much! Highly recommend!

[Nolan]

When you think of oil barons, John D. Rockefeller immediately comes to mind. Odds are high you picture Jed Clampett long before Emanuel Nobel. Unlike the fictional Clampett, Emanuel Nobel was the real article. For a time his oil-extraction empire stretched throughout Eurasia. Douglas Brunt presents a man of extreme wealth and ability. Though never as famous as his uncle Alfred, who founded the peace prize, Emanuel was well known to the world’s oil executives and heads of state. Alfred’s name lives on in the most prestigious prizes on earth. Emanuel’s was deliberately scrubbed from plaques, textbooks, and memory. Why does his name not shine in the lights of history alongside the others who pulled crude from the ground and powered the modern world? Brunt answers that question in this highly arresting, well-written book.

Brunt’s writing style shimmers with clarity and pace as he describes the final years of Czarist Russia and the birth of full-blown communism. He shows how Nobel, a Swede, moved to Russia, gained citizenship under the Czar, and quietly built an oil empire that rivaled—and in some ways may have eclipsed—anything the Rockefellers achieved. The Nobels pioneered the world’s first purpose-built oil tanker, early pipelines, and diesel engines that powered their fleet. These were not merely business moves; they formed the infrastructure that helped turn oil into the modern world’s bloodstream.

Brunt also gives a clear sense of Nobel the man. He established programs designed to educate his workers and help them achieve better housing. Those workers were proud to call themselves Nobelites and fought to defend him against communist foes. You see a real family man as well. Though he never married or had children, he was the personification of kindness to members of his family, nieces, nephews, and the rest. He was critical of other family members who gave more to one another than to charitable causes.

The rise of the wretched man they called the priest, better known as Joseph Stalin, brought the fall of the Emanuel Nobel empire. As Stalin and the communists seized power, Nobel watched his influence fade. He worked hard to improve the lives of his workers, yet Stalin and his associates saw him as evil capitalism personified. After struggling valiantly, Nobel realized he could not slow the onslaught of evil that would soon cover Russia. With his company in tatters, he fled to Sweden and lived there until his death.

I had never encountered a history of the last days of the Czars presented so succinctly and propulsively. I learned more about Rasputin from this book than I had ever known. It horrified me that someone so evil could gain such influence over a feckless family. Brunt is no Stalin sympathizer. He shows that Stalin not only destroyed Nobel’s empire and thoroughly rewrote history so that Nobel’s name vanishes from it, but that Stalin is also responsible for more mass murders than Hitler, the dictator most of us think of first when we consider those who authorized mass killings without hesitation.

The fact that a political system could so systematically erase the accomplishments of someone it disagreed with hit me hard. Surely Emanuel Nobel is not the only person whose influence and work died at the hands of despots. How horrible would it have been if Soviet leaders had managed to quash all the writings of A. I. Solzhenitsyn. What if Yeonmi Park had never escaped North Korea and therefore never written her prescient words of warning to twenty-first-century Americans. Examples like that came to mind as I read, and I was reminded anew of the vital importance of keeping personal journals. I have kept a daily journal since January 1, 2020, missing only two days in all that time. It is a pleasure to look back at the dates and see why those days mattered—moments of divine providence I could never have engineered alone, and the record is teeming with those examples. Years ago, at the behest of my youngest daughter, I participated in a year-long Storyworth partnership, answering questions she chose about my life. Those answers became a book of significant size. I believe we may be held accountable by a higher power for failing to preserve our record, whether through journals, AI chats, pictures, voice recordings, or whatever works. Reading about Nobel’s erasure made me redouble my efforts to keep that record intact and uncorrupted.

“In Baku and Leningrad, plaques and signage that identified the Nobel family or companies bearing their name were stripped away. All evidence of their existence was gone without a trace… A Soviet history book published in 1980 did Stalin’s posthumous bidding by writing, “Nobel Brothers was the leading capitalist predator in the Russian oil business. The degree of monopoly that they achieved brought its bosses large profits through an unprecedentedly refined exploitation of the workers.”

“This text is richly ironic when one considers that the Nobel family pioneered enlightened labor practices in Russia, that their workers proudly identified themselves as “Nobelites,” and that many of Emanuel’s workers risked their lives to protect him and aid his escape from Stalin’s prison. Yet Stalin succeeded in vanquishing the Russian Nobels for a hundred years.”

This was a five-star reading experience primarily because I learned far more from Brunt about the final years of the Czars and the early years of the communists than I ever had before, and he delivered the information in a way that was anything but dry or dense. Brunt narrates his own audiobook and does a great job of it, putting plenty of expression into the reading without cartoon-like vocal caricatures. Blind Americans of a certain age will remember when they had extremely limited access to books and periodicals. Magazines arrived months behind the issue dates because crafting recordings or braille took time, and limited Library of Congress budgets meant limited numbers of books available for recorded production. While today’s digital availability has erased most of those informational limits—Bookshare alone boasts more than a million titles—the sheer value of information will mean a lot to that group of readers. I would hope they would be as horrified as I was to learn how the Soviets systematically erased and dismantled information, ensuring that no one knew about the accomplishments and humanity of Emanuel Nobel. Every time we keep a careful record—whether in a journal, a review, an audiobook, or a conversation—we perform a small act of the very resistance this book celebrates.

[Steve Eubanks]

I’ve come to believe that you need to write novels first, or at least dabble in crafting plot, character, dialogue, and drama from the recesses of your mind, to stare at a blank screen with nothing but your wits and imagination, before venturing into the tedious and time-consuming world of narrative nonfiction. Great fiction writers learn how to build tension, develop story, force the reader to feel something for the characters, to understand their inner workings and motivations. The biggest compliment you can give a narrative nonfiction book is, “It reads like fiction.”

Enter Doug Brunt who had a bestselling fiction catalogue before shifting gears with the wildly successful “The Mysterious Case of Rudolph Deisel,” which I praised to the rooftops when it hit. But there is always the risk of a sophomore slump. Many great writers have one book in them. The follow-up always tells the tale.

Well, fear not. Brunt’s newest book “The Lost Empire of Emmanual Nobel” is at least as good if not better than his first. Like Deisel, most people only know the name Nobel because of Emmanual’s uncle, Alfred, the inventor of dynamite who created the Nobel Prize. But what you don’t know is that Alfred didn’t conjure his invention out of some dream. His father, Immanual, was an explosives’ expert who created the first contact mine to protect ports in time of war, and Emmanuel, the nephew, stood up to the king of Sweden who wanted the family to contest Alfred’s will. There wouldn’t be a Nobel Prize if not for Emmanual Nobel, about whom you probably know nothing.

When I was in grade school, we were taught that the world’s first billionaire and the richest man alive at the turn at the 20th century was John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. That is probably untrue. Nobel was likely the richest man on earth prior to WWII. His fortune came from Russian oil, munitions, steel, and other manufacturing endeavors that he ran with incredible success.

Unlike Rockefeller, Nobel was known throughout Europe for his honorable treatment of employees and concerns for his communities. He was the first person to transport oil in a tanker ship – one he created – and the first to create his own currency to stabilize the money supply when the rest of Russia lost its mind.

But this isn’t just a book about an industrialist, although it would be excellent if that was the only storyline. This is the most fascinating history you will ever read about the Romanovs, Rasputin, Lenin, and especially Joseph Stalin. Brunt takes you places your history professors dared not tread for fear of ticking off the cranky old commie department head with dandruff on the shoulders of his tweed jacket and teeth the color of Naugahyde. If you want the real story of the Russian revolution, its devastating impact on the Russian people, Europe, and rest of the world, read this book.

There’s more, though. Brunt never writes this – the best ones don’t – but the subtext of “Nobel” is that the revolutionary impulses that darkened Eastern Europe and led to 70 years of death, haven’t gone away. Like evil itself, they live in the heart of every man. We must recognize that fact and stand against the current rising forces, or we too will be relegated to the obscurity of Emmanual Nobel, once the world’s richest man.

In the meantime, read this and recommend it to others. You won’t regret it.

[Joshua Paul]

I’ve read a few histories of the oil industry, most of which focused on the emergence of the U.S. industry and its consolidation by Standard Oil. Brunt’s book shifts the focus to Russia, and to the emergence of global competition that broke the American monopoly.

The vast majority of Russian oil came from the Black Sea port of Baku, now in Azerbaijan. Baku had produced oil for more than a millennium. By the 14th century, Marco Polo noted that the region was famed for a “spring from which gushes a stream of oil.” Polo wrote that the oil was “not good to eat,” but was useful for burning and as a salve for wounds. For centuries, production in the region remained small-scale and artisanal, with oil sold mostly in regional markets.

The spark that led to the oil boom of the late 19th century was the development, in 1846, of a process for refining kerosene from crude oil. Kerosene produced a far cleaner and steadier flame than crude oil, or the then-dominant whale oil, which led to a rapid increase in demand for both crude and refining capacity.

When Robert Nobel arrived in Baku in 1873, he recognized that the Russian oil industry was in a state similar to that of the U.S. industry before its consolidation by Standard Oil. There were many small-scale producers and refiners, but they lacked the capital, modern equipment, and business and technical know-how to compete with the Americans. As a result, kerosene from the U.S. dominated the market.

Robert, with backing from his wealthy family, basically applied the Rockefeller playbook in Russia, and it worked as well there as it had in the U.S. The Nobels consolidated the industry and built a lucratively profitable enterprise by deploying the latest technology and using sharp-elbowed market practices. The Nobel business never quite attained the dominance of Standard Oil. They faced competition from the Rothschild-controlled Caspian and Black Sea Petroleum Company, later merged into Royal Dutch Shell, and from 1909 onward from the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, later renamed BP. Both had the sophistication and resources to compete with the deep-pocketed Nobels.

The man who would ultimately drive the Nobels and the Rothschilds from the market was not a business tycoon, but the son of an impoverished alcoholic shoemaker. Joseph Stalin was born in 1878 and, after training to become a priest, became radicalized and began working as a labor organizer and political agitator. As far as Stalin was concerned, the Nobels and Rothschilds were public enemy number two in Russia, after only the Tsar. In 1901, he got a job in a warehouse owned by the Rothschilds, where he immediately organized a strike and was arrested. In later years, he would organize guerrilla bands to sabotage pipelines.

When the Bolsheviks eventually emerged victorious, Nobel fled the country. He eventually agreed to sell his business, which he no longer controlled, to Standard Oil. Standard paid a small fraction of what the business would have been worth, hoping that the Soviets would eventually return the assets. This hope was not realized, and Standard became one of many Western companies to eventually take a write-off on their Russian operations.

[Brendan (History Nerds United)]

I do love those characters from history who disappear into major world events only to be resurrected by an author who stumbles on their story. A new name got added to this list in Emanuel Nobel. Douglas Brunt brings Nobel back to life in his excellent The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel. Also, no, he's not THAT Nobel. That was his uncle. However, Emanuel might be the reason we remember him for the awards in his name rather than the whole "Merchant of Death" stuff.

Brunt's previous book The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel was another book which illuminated an overlooked life. This new work shows Brunt is not going through a sophomore slump. The men are very different in some important ways, but Nobel proves to be a much easier man to both understand and like, in my opinion. Nobel was the nephew of Alfred Nobel, but Brunt shows how it might be more accurate to call the entire Nobel clan "The Family of Death." Various weapons, oil, and other destructive materials were their creations of choice. I don't mean to make them sound like sociopaths, but we do need to be able to call a spade a spade.

Brunt is at his best when taking both complicated science and world events and distilling them to what the reader needs to know to understand the stakes. Brunt is what I call a gateway author. I can hand his books to people who think they hate history, and they might get hooked. Brunt moves this story along without losing the essentials of the people, places, and events. More importantly, he somehow makes the Russian Civil War understandable. I've read much longer books which couldn't accomplish that feat because it is so complex. There is also a sense in Brunt's writing that he is having so much fun putting this narrative together. It is infectious and makes for a fun read even when the topic is not. This is definitely one you should pick up regardless of your interest (or disinterest) in history.

(This book was provided as a review copy by NetGalley and Atria Books.)

[Leadriana]

THE LOST EMPIRE OF EMANUEL NOBEL

RATING: 5/5 ★★★★★

Before reading this book, I only associated the Nobel name with Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize. I had no idea that the Nobel family once built one of the most powerful oil empires in the world. That alone made this story fascinating from the very first chapter.

What I enjoyed most about The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel is that it isn't just a business story. It's a story about ambition, innovation, family legacy, political change, and how quickly fortune can rise and fall. Emanuel Nobel emerges as a visionary leader who helped transform the oil industry during a period when the world itself was rapidly changing.

The book does an excellent job of showing both the excitement and the uncertainty of building something extraordinary. Every success feels significant because the stakes are so high. At the same time, there's a constant reminder that even the strongest empires are vulnerable to forces beyond their control.

What makes the story especially compelling is its historical backdrop. The rise of the Nobel oil empire takes place during a time of technological progress and economic opportunity, while its decline unfolds against political upheaval and revolution. Watching those two forces collide is both fascinating and tragic.

Despite being a historical work, the book never feels distant or dry. The narrative is engaging, the characters are memorable, and the events feel surprisingly relevant to the modern world. It offers insight into leadership and business while remaining, above all, a deeply human story.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel is a remarkable account of vision, ambition, and legacy. It tells the story of people who helped shape an industry and a world that ultimately changed faster than they could control. Informative, engaging, and thought-provoking from beginning to end.

"Some empires are forgotten not because they were small, but because history moved on without them."

[Janine]

As a history nerd, the period around the last tsar, Nicholas II, always attracts me, so I was delighted to have gained access to this ARC (thank you NetGalley and Atria Books). This proved to be an engaging, well written history of a little period and man in Russian history.

Emanuel Nobel (1859-1932), nephew of Alfred Nobel, took over the oil wells found by his Uncle Robert (sent by Emanuel’s father, Ludvig, to southern Russia) and invested in by his father. In Baku and Azerbaijan, these wells were more productive than Rockefeller’s in Pennsylvania. At one time, Emanuel was the richest man in Russia sans Nicholas). As the Russian Revolution came and the Soviets took over, diminutive but vile and evil, Joseph Stalin took an interest in these fields and created havoc among the workers. Novel knew this boded ill for him and others but like many thought the Bolshevik government would collapse. However, he was able to sell his interest and escape to Sweden - where his family was originally from - a very rich man.

Emanuel is portrayed as a decent and honest man in a very corrupt industry as well as a considerate employer in times when employees were not treated well.

The book covers over a hundred years of history - much of it turbulent and fascinating: old empires were dying, modern rulers and capitalist were rising. This book has it all: splendid person of history in a time of incredible change that has probably been forgotten. It’s always good to have history books like this to remain us of our past.

[Soconn5]

Another excellent book from
Douglas Brunt! I didn’t relish it quite as much as The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel, but I loved picking up at roughly the same point in history and learning about another fascinating person whose story has largely been forgotten.

Most people know the Nobel name because of the Nobel Prize, but this book reveals an extraordinary family whose impact stretched far beyond Alfred Nobel. It was a rich, fast-paced tour through Russia, industry, innovation, and the political forces that forever changed history.

The research is simply outstanding. Douglas Brunt has a gift for taking an enormous amount of historical detail and turning it into something that is engaging, approachable, and hard to put down.

What stayed with me most, though, were the echoes of history. As someone watching today’s political landscape, I couldn’t help but see parallels between the rise of socialism in Russia and the increasing influence of democratic socialist ideas in American politics, particularly in light of several recent primary election victories by candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America.

If you enjoy history that reads like a great story rather than a textbook, I highly recommend this one. It shines a light on another remarkable, largely forgotten figure and reminds us that some of history’s most important stories are the ones we rarely hear.

[Tiffany Hall]

STARS: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is my first introduction to Douglas Brunt writing, and it's been some time since I last started reading a historical biography and finished it front to back.

After finishing it, I felt inspired to seek out films and other books that explore this time period, especially to learn more about the past Russian Monarchy. Prior to reading this I had very limited knowledge of Russian History and Government. I very much appreciated this further introduction.

The novel also introduced me to a lesser-known piece of history: the Nobel family, whom I might not have chosen to learn more about on my own. It also taught me more about Stalin, who is often overshadowed by Hitler in discussions of history. I enjoy learning about different historical periods, so I found these additional insights very interesting.

I appreciate the author for deepening my understanding of this historical period and making it enjoyable enough to keep my interest throughout the entire novel. The focus on oil and the petroleum industry could easily have felt dry or uninteresting, but the author wove these topics into the story in a way that made them compelling and informative.

Very much enjoyed and look forward to reading more from Douglas Brunt.

Thank you for this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
All thoughts are entirely my own.

[Sabina Sobinina]

I enjoy reading historical non-fictions about ‘titans of industry’ of years past and this one did not disappoint. It was also about someone that I knew nothing of.

What made this book stand out?
- The author did a great job of painting the political climate around the Nobles that helped to explain both the rise and fall of their empire. Despite the very complex and convoluted economic, political, and geopolitical background in this story, the author made it simple to follow and understand. My high school history teachers would be jealous of this man’s exceptional skill to explain a very challenging period of history.
- We learned about Emmanuel Noble’s character through his deeds rather than through gossip or conjecture. It was enough detail to get a sense of him without it feeling like an overhyped fanfic.
- It’s a topic (Russian Revolution) that I knew in very light strokes and enjoyed getting a deeper understanding of. The author remained relatively neutral in describing the origins of Stalin - I would have been a lot more harsh in my descriptors.
- Bonus points for the illumination on the origin of the Noble Peace Prize.

A map would have been handy for this book to be able to follow along all the locations mentioned. The timeline was very handy!

[Jerry]

The wonderful aspect of Brunt's homage to one of the world's greatest entrepreneurs is his telling the Emanuel Noble story as a novelist. Brunt blends the right amount of detail, combined with story telling pace and flow to create an fascinating account of Nobel's challenges and successes in turning one of the world's most primitive oil producing regions into one of the most productive. Nobel began as a novice in the field of oil production when no infrastructure to capture, refine, and transport oil existed in Tsarist Russia. Nobel developed every aspect of what became the world's leading energy producer virtually from scratch. His oil empire faced significant competition from the world's largest oil producer Rockefeller and the world's wealthiest banker, the Rothschilds. But his biggest challenge came from the societal upheaval in Tsarist Russia fomented by revolutionaries. Among those operating against Nobel was a radical then known as Koba but later as Stalin and it was those revolutionaries who accomplished that which Rockefeller and Rothschild couldn't. Brunt's account is vivid, hard to set aside and leaves the reader in awe of Nobel the creative genius, the astute entrepreneur, the humble and loyal friend, the resolute industrialist. This is a great read.

[Jenn Kause]

Thank you to Libro.fm for this Librarian ALC!

I'm still newer with audiobooks but I really enjoyed learning such a niche topic! I was certainly more interested in the oil aspect of Nobel's life but learned a lot about Russian politics, Nobel as a peace prize of itself, and I think the amount of information from this book is organized really well to the point it's not overwhelming. Despite me being new to audiobooks, I retained a lot of really cool talking points and fun facts that I've been able to share with my family (granted my dad is a Russian studies major so he knew a bit too); but I think if anyone is particularly interested in Russian politics and the Nobel family, this is a fantastic book.

This book does not linger too much on the interest of the Romanovs; there are sure to be countless of books divulging in that sector, and I found that to honestly be the least of anything groundbreaking or new-- but ultimately the relationship of Nobel to the royal family while also maintaining good working ethics with his employees was an interesting key factor into his success and escape from the Bolsheviks.

[Anagha Paranjape-Purohit]

This was one of the most interesting and deep diving history books that I have read in recent times. The life and work of Emmanuel Nobel is not just inspiring but laden with adventure and at the same time, gives a great insight into how a single man can work towards a larger goal while choosing to remain out of limelight. The rewriting of history by the Communist regime of Russia has truly erased this name that needs to be celebrated in today’s world. And despite this, Emanuel Nobel worked steadfastly to promote his uncles name - Alfred Nobel, choosing to remain behind the scene despite his own efforts that have made the Nobel Prize the most coveted prize in the world today. The book took me back in time and the characters literally came off the pages around me. Marvellously written with loads of anecdotes and notes that made even reading the footnotes very interesting. I didn’t want this book to end, almost hoped for a change in the story of Nobel fully aware that this was not a fiction book.

[Ryann]

He was a Swedish giant in Russian oil whose business rivaled those of the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds. Embraced by Tsar Alexander III, only to later become a target of Joseph Stalin, Emanuel Nobel is a lesser known figure amongst the titans of his time.

Douglas Brunt takes readers from Imperialist Russia through to the Bolshevik Revolution, showing how the Nobel family transformed the petroleum industry into a global empire. What I really enjoyed about Brunt’s books on both Rudolph Diesel and now Nobel, is his ability to make complex material accessible and reader friendly. I don’t think I could enjoy a book about petroleum otherwise.

One last thing, I loved the obscure history sprinkled throughout the book. One story in particular involved Lenin’s chef, Spiridon Putin. He would occasionally cook for him and Stalin, recounting the time he prepared a meal for Rasputin. This chef would be the grandfather to Vladimir Putin.

This was another great read from Brunt and I look forward to whatever subject he tackles next. A huge Thank You to Atria Books for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Audrey]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I feel as though I have learned a lot about the Nobel family. I love reading history books, and I'm fascinated by Russian history. Yet despite all I've read about the topic this book pleasantly surprised me with new insights of that era. Before I read this book I knew very little about the Nobel family, other than Alfred Nobel and his connection to the Nobel Prize; now I've learned so much about how Emanuel Nobel and business intertwined with politics, other oil competitors, the rise of socialism, and Stalin. I loved the story telling and pacing of the book. To me, there was no part that was uninteresting. The people were described wonderfully and were easy to keep up with. I definitely recommend this book to someone who loves history - Emanuel Nobel is definitely someone worth reading about.

[Reading in the Clouds]

A great read, with learning to boot - so many a-ha moments!

Overlapping the history of the early XX century - how did a Swede and his family manage to build an empire over the oil region of Caucasus, where the capital Baku became an oil mecca... a human empire, in a region best known for its extensive violence and brutality - over the abdication and overthrow of the Tsars, the civil war that ensued, the Great War overlapping?

Yet it is history, and the Nobel prize established in 1895 is still alive today - even as we take a minute to consider that the nominated historical figures for the peace prize include Stalin (twice), Mussolini (also twice) and Hitler. True, a nomination is not a Nobel Prize.

Anyway, a good read, an interesting research, well written and well performed (audiobook).