THE BIG RICH is about how Texas wildcatters amassed huge fortunes during the Depression and went on to lose most of it in wild speculation.

Bryan Burrough concentrates on the big four: Clint Murchison, H.L. Hunt, Roy Cullen and Sid Richardson. They were able to acquire oil leases because the big oil companies, like Gulf, were short on money because of the Depression. H.L. Hunt got his start by “hijacking” another wildcatter, “Dad” Joiner who found the first great oil field in East Texas, a woodsy area other oil men disdained. Hunt needed to know the direction of the find, where future wells might be drilled. There was one being drilled at the same time as Joiner's well. When it gushed, Hunt was the first to know and was able to buy up leases in that direction. Of course Joiner sued, but the eventual settlement was comparative pocket change. Hunt went on to become the richest man in the world; he also started the conservative movement, buying up radio stations to promote his political views. Hunt hated government interference and regulation. Government tended to try to limit the amount of oil that could be pumped in one day so as to prevent the well from going dry. Hunt resented this. He was also a racist and eventually became a born-again Christian. Hunt was also a bigamist, eventually married to three women with corresponding families, which would present problems in the future with lots of litigation.

How conservative were the oil barons? They latched onto Joe McCarty's hyper anti-communist views, even thinking about financing a run for the presidency. And when Douglas MacArthur was fired, they supported him. Eventually they latched onto Dwight D. Eisenhower., going so far as to remodel his Gettysburg farm.

Clint Murchison was a math whiz and relied more on science to find his oil. He would go on to acquire a NFL franchise, the Dallas Cowboys, which he owned for many years before his son Clint Jr. lost most of his holdings.

Ray Cullen was the least known and least remembered of the big four. He had a fifth grade education but had a nose for finding oil. He was also politically conservative, forever jousting with politicians. He built a mansion in Houston during the Depression and justified it as a civil enterprise, bringing jobs to hundreds of men.

Sid Richardson was more politically astute. He gave money to both political parties and developed a special relationship with Lyndon Johnson, a young congressional candidate at the time who would rise to become senate majority leader and eventually president. His grand nephew, Sid Bass, was even more astute, diversifying when the Middle East began to drive prices down. Sid Bass and his investment partner, Richard Rainwater, would build a fifty million dollar stake into five billion through corporate raider techniques. They would acquire the largest share of stocks in Disney, before it became an entertainment conglomerate under Michael Eisner, whom Sid Bass hired.

Today Texas no longer relies so much on oil; the state has more Fortune 500 companies than any other, but Burroughs makes a curious statement, saying Texas is just another state. Perhaps he said that because he published the book in 2009 before it became such a conservative bastion. But even then George W. Bush's presidency was over and Rick Perry had elected a Board of Education that wanted to rewrite history. Burrough also mentions T. Boone Pickens, who along with other oil and gas magnates, sponsored the Swift Boaters who helped Bush win his second term against John Kerry.