 | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com | Daniel Yergin's first prize-winning book, Shattered Peace, was a history of the Cold War. Afterwards the young academic star joined the energy project of the Harvard Business School and wrote the best-seller Energy Future. Following on from there, The Prize, winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction, is a comprehensive history of one of the commodities that powers the world--oil. Founded in the 19th century, the oil industry began producing kerosene for lamps and progressed to gasoline. Huge personal fortunes arose from it, and whole nations sprung out of the power politics of the oil wells. Yergin's fascinating account sweeps from early robber barons like John D. Rockefeller, to the oil crisis of the 1970s, through to the Gulf War. |
Average Customer Rating:   Necessary and Trusted Reference I have read this book 5 times in the 10 years since purchasing. I reference it often. New trinkets of information are found every time I re-read this excellent story (historical reference) of the oil industry. Propaganda or lack of a moral stance Propaganda, no matter how couched in research is still propaganda. The author seems gung-ho on the archievements of "the industry" and its dominant actors and never expresses dismay at the wanton destruction it has and continues to perpetuate. Right from the premise, when he had reported on the greed which the inceptions of the industry created/fed upon, I found myself wishing he would take a moral stance and say something against what could only be disastrous for all in the long-term. But, alas, nothing there, and yet, robber barons like Rockefeller were touted to no end. Goes to show you that Yergin is his industry's man. An essential history book for public education... Mr. Yergin's book is a superbly written account of the impact of oil upon our global economy and way of life.
I never knew oil would be so essential towards economic and strategic concerns. The one fact that burned into my brain is the energy content of oil versus coal for warships during World War I. Ships burning oil instead of coal had more powerful engines while saving space and man-power. I don't recollect the figure, but it was staggering to realize an oil-fueled ship, say a British cruiser, could have as much firepower (after deducting weight and space for the bigger ship) as a coal-fueled German battleship. Oil is the stuff of victory. Akin to Frank Herbert's literary object "Spice" in his Dune series, alliances and treaties mean nothing to nations when struggling for a secure source of oil.
To understand the importance of oil is to also understand how vulnerable oil-dependent countries are against suppliers, dwindling supply, and the politics involved in protecting the flow of oil products.
Realizing the implications of oil-dependency should be an important part of our future public education cirriculum. History of Oil The Prize is a very facinating history of the oil age. It tells of the origin of all the major oil compaies that are here today. Some times it gets a little tedious with incidents in history but really gives a picture of the ruthlessness of the big time oil men. The Prize — Buy the 2008 Edition The new edition costs the same.
Yergin's prize-winning history stretches from the first Pennsylvania oil rush in 1860 to the crash of world oil prices in 2008, and it all reads like a novel. Well, not quite. The epilogue, which covers the period after the Gulf war in 11 pages, skims along ten times faster than the rest and feels a bit more like a history lesson. But it gives you a balanced view of recent events.
I bought the original version as I started researching energy. Two full bookshelves later, I can tell you, no other book in this field holds a candle to it for fascination and information. I've read complaints about what it doesn't cover so here are some alternatives, but if you want tales of the way greed, ignorance, and cleverness respond to natural wealth and, in turn, shape world history and current global politics, this is your book.
For oil geology and exploration, read Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage (New Edition). Oil industry nitty-gritty: Oil on the Brain: Petroleum's Long, Strange Trip to Your Tank. What to do about OPEC: Carbonomics: How to Fix the Climate and Charge It to OPEC. Alternatives to Oil: Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Third Edition. Big Oil's power: The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry--and What We Must Do to Stop It.
There's no summarizing such a book, but here's the sort of tales he tells. The 1930 discovery of the Black Giant in East Texas nearly destroyed the oil industry, sending prices down to thirteen cents a barrel. After a voluntary shutdown failed, the Governor of Texas sent the Texas Rangers in on horseback. They shut down production and sent prices back up. This led to the Texas Railroad Commission becoming the first government-organized oil cartel — a model for OPEC years later.
As an economist I really appreciate the fact that Yergin gets his economics right. This is crucial for a book about price manipulation, and it's quite uncommon among popular books. For example he understands why the Saudis tried to hold price down in 1979 and why Bush Senior flew to Saudi Arabia in 1986 to try to get them to raise the price back up. Yergen helps you understand exactly why things happen in this topsey-turvey world. In any case, The Prize has been selling like hotcakes for 18 years. Whether you're fascinated by powerful historical forces or disgusted but intrigued by fossil fuel, you won't be disappointed. |  |
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