Black Gold: The Story of Oil

by William E. Butterworth III

Traces the history of oil from its use by the ancient Sumerians through the present energy crisis, with emphasis on the men who fought for control of the oil industry.

232 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

William Edmund Butterworth III is a writer of military and detective fiction with over a hundred (and counting) books published under multiple names.

Pseudonyms include:
Alex Baldwin
Webb Beech
Walter E. Blake
W.E. Butterworth
Jack Dugan
John Kevin Dugan
W.E.B. Griffin
Eden Hughes
Blakely St. James (with Charles Platt and Hart Williams)
Edmund O. Scholefield
Patrick J. Williams

William E. Butterworth was born on November 10, 1929 in Newark, New Jersey.
Mr. Butterworth enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private in 1946 and underwent counterintelligence training at Fort Holabird. After assignment to the Army of Occupation in Germany where he served on the staff of the Commander of the U.S. Constabulary, Major General I.D. White, Butterworth left the service in 1947, but rejoined and again served with White from 1951 to 1953 in Korea. After leaving the service for the second time, Butterworth remained in Korea as a combat correspondent. He was later appointed chief of the publications division of the Signal Aviation Test and Support Activity at the Army Aviation Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama.
At first, Butterworth wrote fiction for young adults and romances. He has written more than 125 books, many of them military thrillers or police dramas. Butterworth received the Alabama Author's Award in 1982 from the Alabama Library Association.