About this title: Written by the author of "Shattered Peace" and "Energy Future", this book brings to life the tycoons, wildcatters, monopolists, regulators, presidents, generals and sheiks whose struggle for oil has shaken the world economy, dictated the outcome of wars, transformed the destiny of Britain and the world and profoundly changed all our lives. Beginning with the first oil well of the 1850s and continuing up to Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, it is a story of greed, gumption nad ingenuity, all in pursuit of "the prize" - worldwide economic, military and political mastery through the control ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. May have wear or tear to spine, edges and or cover. Creases in spine. Bent/rounded corners. May have highlighting/notes. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Free Press
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780671799328ISBN:0671799320
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. Return Policy Any defects, damages, or material differences with your item, must be reported to us within 7 days of receipt of the item or 30 days from date of shipment. The returned merchandise must be postmarked within 30 days of the shipment notification. Non-deliveries must be reported ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simom and Schuster
Date Published: 1991-12
ISBN-13:9780671757052ISBN:0671757059
Description: Good. This First Printing copy is in good condition. There's reference markings/underlining/highlights to a few pages in different parts of the copy. No visible tears to text. Tight spine. No Dust Jacket. Bottom of front/back Soft Cover has a crease with tiny scratches/rubbing around the edges. Bottom foredge has a faded black line. Moderate shelf/edge wear. Apart from minor flaws, one can get a lot of usage from this very interesting copy, which is worth having at an affordable price. (L7-15) read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Free Press
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780671799328ISBN:0671799320
Description: Fair. No dust jacket as issued. Highlighting/underlining. some cover wear, some pink highlighting. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 928 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: Later Printing
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780671757052ISBN:0671757059
Description: B/W Photographs & Color Fold Out Map. Very Good- 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall 0671757059 Used Creasing and light wear to wraps; curling to upper wrap. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780671502485ISBN:0671502484
Description: Good in Good jacket. 233-Z Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780671502485ISBN:0671502484
Description: Fair in good dust jacket. Highlighting/underlining. Some creasing in dust jacket. Underlining present. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 912 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simom and Schuster
Date Published: 1991-12
ISBN-13:9780671757052ISBN:0671757059
Description: Very Good. Black mark on bottom edge. No other marks or damage inside or out. Light cover wear including some lamination peeling at the edges. Tight square binding with no spine creases. read more
Edition: Reprint
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Touchstone, New York
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780671799328ISBN:0671799320
Description: Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. xxxii, 877 pp., [32] pp. of plates, illus., biblio., index; 24 cm. Good+. Firm binding, clean inside copy. Age toning, top edge lightly soiled. Another copy available. read more
"I'd give it five because it is an awesome book were it not for the length. This is the Hawaaiian Ironman Triathlon of books. It is a porject, but when you're done you'll never look at oil and the meticulously intertwined web it weaves through the politics, economy, and social fabric of our societies."
"Oil is the thread connecting 130 years of global history through such characters as John D. Rockefeller, Harry Sinclair, Winston Churchill, King Faisal, Warren G. Harding, T.E. Lawrence and many more. Our oil addiction stemmed from the discovery of oil "seep fields" (think of teh Beverly Hillbillilies "bubblin' crude") in Western Pa.
The original oil boom sought to exploit kerosene as an improvement over whale oil burning in lamps. Oil fever waxed and waned until the commercialization of internal combustion, which transformed the US in a mere decade and is still transforming the world.
The story of oil is the story of huge historical themes and events: the rise and fall and rise of monopolies in the U.S.; the Bolshevik revolution; and the colonization of "protectorates" in Mesopotamia to create states like Iraq.
Oil was the lynchpin resource of both World Wars. In WWII the Allies destroyed Rumanian oilfields in a race against time against marching Germans and Turks.
In a lesser-known variation on the Miracle of Dunkirk, the French discovered the utility of internal combustion when the military drafted thousands of Parisian cab drivers to transport troops to the front against marching Germans. Without this improvised troop movements (and yes the cabbies were encouraged to run their meters), the Germans could have easily taken the capital and possibly ended the war with a different result.
Suddenly cavalry was "out." Tanks (a code name that stuck) were invented to break the gridlock imposed by trench warfare. Internal combustion also fueled dogfights in the sky. In months airplanes went from unreliable toys to 150 mph fighting machines, which were made obsolete by a new generation of war planes in only another six months.
In WWII we outproduced the Axis as much as defeated them.
Yergin set out to depict a fascinating historical sweep through an oil-filled prism. He is partially successful. He vividly recreates characters like Rockefeller, Teddy Roosevelt, and Marcus Samuel, the founder of Shell Oil who got his start selling curios and souvenirs covered in glued-on sea shells and also became Mayor of London.
But the journey feels more episodic than sweeping as this very looonnnggg book is splintered into two- and three-page chapters, almost each commandeered by a new Superhero/Master of the Business or Political Universe. He also over-focuses on the business dealings of Big Oil, sometimes to the point of tedium but often to the exclusion of the social side of the story, such as: What was really happening in Mesopotamia while the region was being pawned between England and France? Oddly Yergin's chapter on the rise of the drive-through gas station is more compelling than his re-creation of this "Great Game" between superpowers.
Still there is much fascinating between these pages and I will soldier on through completion--I'm up to about 1928, or page 224."
"Yergin provides an incredible look at the history of the world's most important commodity. If you want to understand the state of the world economy, geopolitics and the direction our society is headed, this is probably the best place to start. It's a mammoth, over 1000 pages, but absoluely fascinating. And for the lazy non-readers out there, you can probably get the PBS version on Netflix."
"A must read for anyone interested in politics, business or history. The book is long and and detailed. However, there are smaller stories in the longer history of oil. A good lesson in market economics, if oil prices get to high history shows a big correction is around the corner."
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