Midnight Oil: Work, Energy, War, 1973-1992

by Midnight Notes Collective

Nonfiction. MIDNIGHT OIL is a political journey through two decades of social struggles, ranging from the oil fields of the Middle East and Africa to the coal mines of Appalachia and the homes and neighborhoods of America and Europe. Tracing the unifying themes of work, energy, oil and war, it draws a physiognomy of the planetary proletariat, connecting escaped indentured servants from India to oil workers sabotaging production in the Niger Delta; Gulf War resisters in New York to Kurdish rebels in Iraq; insurrectionary Iranian students to wildcat autoworkers in Detroit; housewives on rent strike in Italy to Boston burners of midnight oil. This book suggests new boundaries, hidden political commonalities and possible strategies for confronting the "New World Order."

Genres: History, Politics, Labor, Theory, Nonfiction

340 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1992

Reviews

[Tai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to help put oil into political context. Most news sources don't explain the part oil really plays in the never ending wars and the labor movement. Add some depth to your understanding of recent history by reading this excellent book.

[Bill Bogert]

the class analysis of the ecology movement is spot on; the analysis of energy falls a bit too much on the wage-push side of crisis theory for me, but is impressive a piece of big picture theorizing

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag of essays, some quite dated, some still shockingly relevant.

[6655321 · Rating 3 out of 5]

really dated, sometimes good, sometimes really hard to slog through because of how dated it is; overall very interesting historically

[James Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible usable theory!