Publishing: The Mobil Man Tells His Tale

“I am an American,” former Mobil President William P. Tavoulareas declares in his new book, Fighting Back, as he partakes of an old American pastime, attacking enemies in print. Fighting Back, to be published by Simon & Schuster in February, is a stinging critique of the Washington Post, which in 1979 published articles accusing Tavoulareas of using Mobil funds to help set up his son Peter in the shipping business. Tavoulareas sued the paper for libel and won a $2.1 million jury judgment. The ruling was later reversed and then reinstated. That decision was put aside when the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington agreed to review the case. A ruling is pending.

A draft of the book describes Post Editor Ben Bradlee as having a “kind of preppy, tweedier-than-thou arrogance.” The book also attacks Democratic Representative John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which investigated Tavoulareas’ dealings, describing him as a “bully boy.” The Congressman responded, also in print. His statement: “The book sounds like the howls of a child caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.”