Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil

by Peter Maass

A stunning and revealing examination of oil's indelible impact on the countries that produce it and the people who possess it.

Every unhappy oil-producing nation is unhappy in its own way, but all are touched by the "resource curse"—the power of oil to exacerbate existing problems and create new ones. In Crude World, Peter Maass presents a vivid portrait of the troubled world oil has created. He takes us to Saudi Arabia, where officials deflect inquiries about the amount of petroleum remaining in the country's largest reservoir; to Equatorial Guinea, where two tennis courts grace an oil-rich dictator's estate but bandages and aspirin are a hospital's only supplies; and to Venezuela, where Hugo Chávez's campaign to redistribute oil wealth creates new economic and political crises.

Maass, a New York Times Magazine writer, also introduces us to Iraqi oilmen trying to rebuild their industry after the invasion of 2003, an American lawyer leading Ecuadorians in an unprecedented lawsuit against Chevron, a Russian oil billionaire imprisoned for his defiance of Vladimir Putin's leadership, and Nigerian villagers whose livelihoods are destroyed by the discovery of oil. Rebels, royalty, middlemen, environmentalists, indigenous activists, CEOs—their stories, deftly and sensitively presented, tell the larger story of oil in our time.

Crude World is a startling and essential account of the consequences of our addiction to oil.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Economics, Society, History, Environment, Science

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Riku Sayuj · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a travelogue than an environmental book, Crude World is a collection of nation wide case studies. With incisive and bold investigative journalism Peter Maass has brought out the unambiguous reality of the 'Resource Curse'. The chapters on Saudi Arabia and Russia were particularly interesting. Maass however provides no new insights or solutions except to reiterate that it is ultimately in our hands.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is more like an extended magazine article. It's listed as 276 pages, but that number drops to 225 if you leave out the endnotes. If you're looking for a broad introduction to the world of oil geopolitics, this may be the book for you. But the author has no special insight to offer, no new way of thinking about the problems involved with oil extraction, just restatements of what's been said and observed already many times.

The author himself may be aware of how unoriginal his book is, since sometimes he appears desperate to imbue his material with gratuitous significance. Describing Osama bin Laden's father, he writes, "If the oil boom had not happened, he could not have dreamed of such an extended family, and Osama would not have been born." Elsewhere he writes lazy sentences like, "Most Saudis would rather be unemployed than accept low-paying, difficult work." Yes, and most writers about oil would rather regurgitate unhelpful stereotypes than actually talk to Saudis. Lastly, other times the writing is just plain bad. Describing Hugo Chavez, he says "He fills a room like warm water poured into a cup."

[أشرف فقيه · Rating 4 out of 5]

الكتاب ليس موسوعياً مثل (الجائزة)، لكنه يقدم صورة وافية ومعاصرة لـ "لعنة النفط".. فحيث يوجد النفط يوجد الفساد وسوء الإدارة ويتفشى الفقر والبطالة وتنتهك البيئة ومعها حقوق المواطنين. وهذه هي نكتة أو لعنة النفط. لأن النفط يفترض أن يجلب الرخاء والثراء كونه محور الاقتصاد والسياسة العالميين. يجادل المؤلف أنه باسثناء بعض الأمثلة القليلة فإن النفط كان نقمة على الشعوب المالكة له.. وحتى هذه العبارة الأخيرة تبدو شديدة التعقيد والضبابية.. لأن تاريح النفط هو وجه آخر لتاريخ الحق الضائع. النفط هو دم الشعب المتفرق بين أيادي حكومات الاستعمار وشركاته الأجنبية والنخب الحاكمة حيثما وجد.
كي يضعنا المؤلف في الصورة أكثر، فإنه يغمرنا بالمعلومات حول تاريخ النفط ومراحل استخراجه وخفايا تسويقه، باستعراضه لأكثر من حالة معاصرة بالتفصيل الممل: نيجيريا، الإكوادور، غينيا الاستوائية، العراق، روسيا، السعودية، إيران، الكويت، أذربيجان، فنزويلا، تكساس وأميركا طبعاً وسواها من بؤر النفط الكبرى حيث تمور سوق الطاقة وتحدد مصائر أجيال البشر.
حيثما كان النفط.. كان الرخاء والثراء. هذا الكتاب يوضح كيف تم حصر هذه "الحقيقة" البدهية لتشمل فئة منتقاة من صناع القرار وأعضاء مجالس إدارات الشركات الكبرى حول العالم، عوض أن تشمل كل الملايين الذين ينتمون للبلدان المصدرة للنفط.
متى ستنتهي هذه المسرحية؟ ليس قريباً أبداً يجادل الكاتب. والانتقال لمصدر بديل آخر لن يكون سهلاً أيضاً. ليس لأن العالم يعتمد على النفط بشدة.. ولكن لأن مصادر الطبقة المتنفذة باتت مرتهنة به بشكل مرعب ومتوحش.
وهذا هو معنى عنوان الكتاب: إنه عالم وحشي.. عالم الخام.

[Keith Akers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard this guy speak at the recent ASPO-USA conference. He's good. This book is very much "human interest" journalism -- no need to worry about charts and graphs here, or tortuous explanations of depletion rates. He goes to Africa, central Asia, and all over the world to talk to people affected by oil and the oil industry.

He said that writing this book was more difficult even than writing about war, because at least in a war there are people shooting at each other which you can write about.

The book was very revealing to me, about how totally corrupt even an oil-rich society can be, and how no one is really "in charge" of figuring out how oil should best be used, either in this country or anywhere else, either. It's just really chaos -- everyone is in there trying to exploit it before it's all gone, which will likely be sooner than we think, we're probably close to or past the point of "peak oil."

[Shawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing, in that it focuses almost entirely on the damage done to the oil producing economies/societies, rather than the consumers. Although there's a brief analysis of Iraq and an implicit acknowledgment that oil was and is the main reason we're there, it's only implicit.

If you're looking for a decent history of what has happened to oil producers over the past 30 years, read it here. If you're looking for a book that focuses on the future of both producers and consumers (as the subtitle, "the violent twilight of oil" might lead you to believe this is) this isn't the book.

[Epimetheus Xaaji · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people think that oil can make countries rich overnight, but the truth is much more compex. Oil has more problems than goods.

[Khalid · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author exposes the staggering destruction oil has wrought in countries less well-known as energy suppliers. The author recounts how the greed of Western oil companies, governments and consumers have propped up such vicious and corrupt dictatorships as that in Nigeria. Nigeria has earned more than $400bn from oil, yet, as Maass grimly notes, nine out of 10 Nigerians live on less than $2 a day and one in five children dies before its fifth birthday. Some 80% of Nigeria's oil wealth goes to 1% of its population (on World Bank figures). It is, frankly, stolen as it trickles through the system, from ministers to bureaucrats to policemen scratching their palms. And, because this is Nigeria, not some tiny, fly-blown state, because the land teems with young men without schooling or jobs, all this leads to big troubles and, sometimes, big headlines. Reported from countries ranging from Russia to Equatorial Guinea, Maass's heartfelt and beautifully crafted book reveals how one of oil's darkly magical properties is that it erases inconvenient memories.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read into how oil can, and does, chain humanity to economic, environmental and cultural cesspools. Maas takes a trip around the globe investigating the history and current state (as of late 2008) of various geographic places that are drenched in oil. In each case proving that oil is not a boon, but a bane. The chapters on New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela were great.

But, my feelings are in each case he throws the blame on oil. The true monsters are greed and corruption. It is not until his conclusion that he offers any healing balms for these ills. I like his conclusion as I share his idea that we must get away from oil. Go Green and produce jobs that way. His information on transparency with Big Oil would also be a positive step.

Unfortunately, other than some interesting history and social studies and a well written conclusion, there was not much meat on the bones.

[David Buccola · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's much to like about this book. Maass does a good job of illustrating the destructive and corruptive influence of fossil fuels on much of the world. From environmental destruction to political corruption, Maass shows just how much harm our love of fossil fuels is causing.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book hooked me with all the interviews the author did! it was interesting hearing from so many people with very different roles in the “crude world” of oil from a variety of countries.

readers should know that this book focuses on the politics of oil, not environmental effects (only briefly covering those in the context of a lawsuit in Ecuador). but this being said, this book is weak in political analysis, only briefly engaging with why Canada and Norway do not suffer the “resource curse” oil brought to other countries and drawing bland conclusions about corruption and greed. like no way, you’re really telling me that Chevron is not the good, honest, loving corporation I always thought it was?

i wish the conclusion did not exist. all that discussion of the impact of the US military, for example, and the author gives us the lame recommendation that “Changing light bulbs and driving a Prius are just the first, the smallest and the easiest of steps (though only if you can afford a Prius).” ? but, i can forgive a weak analysis for the value of the content itself.

i especially learned a lot from the chapters on Equatorial Guinea, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. the author showed some really important inner workings and perspectives I hadn’t heard before, so I enjoyed reading it overall!

[thewestchestarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The oily truth. Upton Sinclair’s ”The Jungle” exposed the literal sausage-making of the meat packing industry prompting a painful, public examination of the industry eventually leading to reform. Peter Maas’ ”Crude World” presents a similarly ugly, painful review of the modern oil industry and will likely lead to…very little. The difference is choice. When it comes to what we eat and how it gets to our plate, we have easy other options. When it comes to our intractable addition to oil, we have little other choice.

P.J. O’Rourke’s Holidays in Hell was a humorous tour of the world’s leading shitholes. Maas’ book is similar but the intention is a dead serious expose of what happens to otherwise horrific countries when geologists discover Texas tea beneath its sands, water or rocks. Maas’s has likely shortened his natural life span chemically either through his adventures in the ecological nightmares he has visited or politically through his revealing of the secrets of some of the most powerful organizations on the planet. In short the oil industry will get him either one way or the other.

And it is this fearless, Edward R. Murrow-telling-it-like-it-is that is the ultimate strength of the book. It is certainly not the humor or the uplifting story that is the attraction and nor it is it the mystery. Basically these countries’ stories are all the same. Oil is discovered in some awful part of the work - Equatorial Guinea, Ecuador, Russia, Saudi Arabia (if you are female), Venezuela and the like and the riches its promises quickly turns to corruption, brutality, environment catastrophe and a generally much worsening of conditions for the common folk. The corruptors of officials and destroyers of the environment are mostly from the U.S. in Maas’ telling but he is quick to point out that the Houston oil men he vilifies have little choice - if they don’t, the Chinese will and without the black gold tens of millions would starve and freeze.

In short, if you want to know who had to die or suffer, who walked off with sometimes billions of ill-gotten gain and what would happen to you and your family if Houston’s oil men didn’t play it fast and loose for every gallon of gas you ever put in your car or in your house’s oil tank then plod through Maas’ tome. If you would rather not know avoid it.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on the imperialistic geopolitics of oil. The author visited eleven countries to write the book and had already been to seven other key nations. Interviews with and observations on a panoply of people from Exxon CEO (observations only) to jihadist fighter. Full of facts, some of which may be outdated; e.g. Ras Tanura is probably no longer the biggest terminal in the world. Even if dated, they are illustrative; e.g. Nigeria flared circa 2008 20% of all the world's flared-off gas.
Discusses the "resource curse" why resource-rich countries usually have low per capita income.
"The Dutch Disease" an influx of foreign money booming in causes local industry and agriculture to atrophy and they can't always recover after the bust as the Netherlands managed to.
A good companion book to Sonia Shah's Crude: The Story of Oil. They complement each other. Christopher T. Rand's Making Democracy Safe For Oil: Oilmen And The Islamic East which I have not read for a long time and must have lent to someone is a worthy predecessor to both, though it focuses on the Islamic East long before 9/11.

P.S. added a few days later: I did not credit this book as well as it deserves for making clear that the whole world needs to move away from oil not only because our overuse of it is causing a climate crisis. Oil ruins the lives of millions of people through direct pollution, embedding corrupt or inept governments, and the Dutch Disease. Granted, solar energy is not a free lunch. Photovoltaic cells also require scarce resources like rare earths and heavy metals that can cause resource wars and harm the men and women who mine them. The scale is different, however. Also there are low-tech solar devices like cookers that don't require more than aluminum foil.

[Trena · Rating 4 out of 5]

NEWS FLASH: Oil is depressing.

I read this book based on a review in The Economist.

One of his main points is that oil is so bad for the countries that have it because it creates wealth without jobs. I didn't really know that (or think about it) before, but he persuasively explains that it really is a curse. Whether the money is stolen by corrupt officials (often) or distributed among the people (occasionally), not enough jobs is not good for a society--even a society where all have an easy lifestyle due to oil money.

And even if a country doesn't start out desperately poor, oil can have that effect. When oil is flowing and prices are high, the economy gradually shifts away from labor intensive, modestly profitable, and smaller economic sectors (in part due to currency inflation--this is called the Dutch Disease) solely to highly profitable oil; the agricultural and manufacturing diversity that predated oil's discovery is lost. Eventually, oil fields run dry and there is always a risk of price volatility, and once that main economic prop is removed and the originally diversified economy has been obliterated, desperate poverty is the result.

The chapters each focus on a place and a topic (Scarcity, Plunder, Rot, and Contamination are the first four chapters). Some of the places I was relatively familiar with, others I knew nothing about (such as Equatorial Guinea). All the chapters are sad, scary, depressing, and nauseating.

Maass tries to offer a hopeful conclusion, but really there's not much room for one. Alternative energy sources are our best hope--but that ignores all the industrial uses of petroleum (such as in the manufacture of plastic). Depressing. For real.

[Andrew Helms · Rating 2 out of 5]

From an anecdotal perspective, it was a relatively interesting book. However, in terms of expanding the discussion and discourse around natural resources, economic development and a path forward, Maass really did not present anything groundbreaking, or even fresh.

You could summarize the whole book as:
Oil gives a lot of wealth, governments and oil companies usually take advantage of this and exploit people. Things should not be this way.

[Hans Hoffmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who want a quick overview of how the Oil industry works worldwide this is a great read. From Nigeria --> Russia --> Saudi Arabia--> Venezuala and more it should give you a appreciation of the role oil plays in the world economy and the environmental damage it does to extract the oil. A large part of the latter could be avoided but shareholders are more important.

[AC · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is somewhat interesting, but lacks depth -- and there are better things out there for the money.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like there was a lot of good stuff here, but for whatever reason I had a lot of trouble paying attention. Maybe I'm just all outraged out.

[Eddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. I started to smell a liberal agenda when author started yappnig about Climate Change. Then I read he’s a NY Time “journalist” so immediately I knew ‘ah a liberal ‘book’. This book is more like a Craplantic article or a long article in NY Times. Glad i didn’t pay for his Captain Obvious musings saying nothing terribly new on oil. Written in peak of oil prices when the myth pushed by oil traders & wall st and dummy journos was “Peak Oil”! A concocted hypothesis. Author got on the bandwagon believing bubble hype, rather than seeing it for what it is. He would have written on the value of dot com stocks in the late 90s and the scarcity of important ‘ecommerce’ (buzzword then) websites. Glad this was a library audiobook - it would have been awful wasting time reading.

The potential for an excellent book was here, but the author writes his bias because he's a liberal from New York Times ranting on “climate change” SCAM and he states ‘climate change’ is a fact - IT ISN’T. All liars liberals claim it's a scientifically proven fact when it’s not the case - a hypothesis at best (anyone can make up a hypothesis and just bc you do doesn’t make it real. I hypothesis Santa Claus and the tooth fairy are real - now they are real bc I said so.

These fake climate “scientists” is just a joke. They don't know anything. They can't predict anything and when it's too hot: “oh it's global warming” and then it's too cold: “oh the polar ice caps are freezing!” Last year it was hot in Southern California (a rarity! Sun in So Cal) they said “hottest weather on record in Southern California” which was a lie. Global Warming is here!” Now this summer on 2023 it's one of the coldest summers on record. Must be the earth is freezing over this year. Weather Hustlers went to global warming in the '70s and '80s from the '60s the polar ice caps were going to freeze we were going to be an ice age!

You can see all the disaster movies made on both premises (it’s too hot! It’s too cold!). Since they're always wrong bc they're making it up a political pollster came up with “climate change” hey the weather's changing! As if there's no fall, spring, summer, and winter seasons. So no matter what happens they're right - heads I win tails you lose.

The author’s conclusion on climate change is a pathetic joke. If he had stuck to the important things that he did mention about oil economies, oil corruption, and dug deeper into this - then this could have been a superb book. But it is NOT. Anyone can write a book report, so it's not like you’re some great author discussing oil economies and the political corruption that goes with it. A true journalist doesn’t insert their personal bias as fact. This author did. Glad I didn't buy this book to support some idiot journalist wannabe author.

There's definitely valid points in the book. However he's not the only one to talk about this. You can go on YouTube and learn about corrupt dictators.

[Laurent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must read. Maass dwells into the history of the discovery of oil and the way to its environmental and human right impact around the globe. Obvious spoiler altert, is that it has NOT contributed in any positive way to the rights of vunerable communities who are exploited of their oil either directly by being forced of their land or indirectly, by the inability to have a thriving ecosystem to deprive its fruits from.

At first, I was sceptical to read this book due to some of the negative reviews on here. I quickly came to realize that alot of those reviews have to do with people disagreeing with certain views and comments posed by the author. While the author tries to be neutral, it can clearly be seen that from time to time his personal viewpoint influence his writing style. A example of where this can be seen is when he talks about the war on Iraq and his strong believe that this was mainly fueled by oil (which I personally dont refute). Yes, he does back all his claims up by evidence yet not everyone wishes to be influenced by a opinion they see as the 'wrong' one. Further, lots of people simply see their government as the 'good guys' who can never go wrong and refute anything that goes against this. Would I call their behaviour being naive? Probably. While alot of people idealize a perfect world, with perfect working between individuals and nature, the harsh reality is that this rarely if ever takes place. And when it does, it dosent survive for a long time. And the oil sector is a easy example of this. Whether it be in Africa, America or the Middle east. If I had to say, this is also a great read to open your mind and question everything (I know, this sounds like a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist type of saying). Sad to know that this book from 2009, isnt too off today (2022) in that the same groups of people struggling back then for the behaviour of a few, are the same people struggling today in the exact same way. Sure there has been some positive change (such as Shell having to pay 95 million euro to communities in Nigeria as a court ruled in 2019), yet these changes fail to keep up with the ever growing problems. The topic of oil can take up books and essays, but this book specifically serves as a perfect introduction to the horrors(?) the planet faces.

[Ronnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that is riveting from the get-go. I have read Maass's writing in other magazines . The story of oil is the the story of us...the users of oil in our daily life. The extraction...the costs both under ground and over ground. The spent monies on families...governments ....agencies.....the people who live in poverty/starvation by the willful neglect of the practioners of oil explorations. Just for shits and grins the oil companies also practiced their benevolent bastardy on their own in Texas. No oil company is immune to the perversity of the black gold. You can't taste it...eat it..drink it...you use it and its byproducts in our daily life. The people who live above ground where the oil is gotten suffer. It is only the governments and rich families who are privy to the ostentatious presentations of the development of oil.This is quite a read. Read it and then look art the ads on TV....or buffoonery that is presented on TV shows. ..all supported by the products of oil on the backs of the oppressed of the governments which produce this stuff...

[Book Shark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil by Peter Maass

“Crude World” is a topical book about the impact oil has had on those countries that produce it. Accomplished journalist and author, Peter Maas provides compelling arguments to support his theory that oil-rich countries are not rich, and that their oil has brought more trouble rather prosperity. This 288-page book is composed of the following ten chapters: 1. Scarcity, 2. Plunder, 3. Rot, 4. Contamination, 5. Fear, 6. Greed, 7. Desire, 8. Alienation, 9. Empire, and 10. Mirage.

Positives:
1. A very engaging book. Elegant and descriptive prose.
2. A very interesting topic. The impact of oil in terms of politics, society and environment is engrossing indeed.
3. Peter Maas a well-traveled journalist, makes great use of his experiences to portray a clear picture of the impact oil has had on those countries that produce it: Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Russia, Iraq and Venezuela. He dedicates complete chapters to these countries and does a very good job of describing the impact oil has had on them.
4. The two things that can hurt the financial aspirations of oil-producing countries.
5. Interesting facts regarding oil throughout the book, “Saudi Arabia possesses 21 percent of the world’s conventional reserves”.
6. The concept of peak oil.
7. Interesting how theft can occur in so many ways in the oil business. Equatorial Guinea serves as a great example. I will not spoil it for you but rest assured it is quite interesting and clearly shows how the onion crime peals back to reveal many levels.
8. The process of selling the rights to search for oil or gas. Interesting and no wonder corruption is rampant.
9. Interesting how oil money corrupts at so many levels. The author can’t stress this enough with example after example.
10. A fascinating look at international politics.
11. The emergence of China as a major oil consumer.
12. Interesting quotes, “The meek shall inherit the Earth, but not the mineral rights.” Paul Getty.
13. The recurring theme of how oil can even turn once healthy countries like Nigeria into a specimen of rot. In the case of Nigeria, the wealth was stolen.
14. The correlation between high dependence on primary commodities and the risk of conflict. Interesting.
15. The environmental impact of oil can never be underestimated.
16. The impact of little to no regulations. “If a curious mind wanted to know what a major oil company might do without oversight in the developing world, the answer was to be found in the Oriente.”
17. The dirty tricks that lawyers play. “Fourteen years elapsed between the verdict against Exxon in Alaska and actual payment of punitive damages by the company.”
18. The use of fear and how relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority.
19. Find out who America’s number one environment criminal is according to Greenpeace.
20. Eye-opening examples of greed on our own people. Immoral crimes…the players named.
21. There are a few outliers of countries who are resistant to corporate corruption, find out…
22. Politicians and oil.
23. There are some great examples of reckless behavior on the part of oil companies.
24. Iraq and how our desire for their oil guided our politics. Fascinating!
25. How too much oil impacted the Saudi people. Fascinating history.
26. The rollercoaster ride of oil and Russia. Interesting facts too, “Russia was becoming the third-most dangerous country for independent journalists, ranking behind only Iraq and Colombia in the number of murdered reporters.”
27. The chapter on Venezuela is one of the most interesting chapters and shows how even good intentions can be of little consequence when a country lacks the expertise to govern.
28. The author does provide some ideas on how to solve some of the problems posited.
29. Great appendices.
30. Notes and web links.

Negatives:
1. The book does a much better job of describing the problems that oil has caused versus providing solutions.
2. Few charts and diagrams.
3. No direct links to notes from the narrative.
4. For those who have read books on the topic; there is very little new here.
5. It doesn’t touch on the impact it has on the average consumer.

In summary, this is a very solid and interesting book to read. Peter Maass takes the reader on a journey through oil-producing countries and provides a grim picture of the real impact oil has had on the lives of people. He does a wonderful job of describing the main players involved and the direct impact it has had on the societies and environment. He succeeds in providing compelling and heartfelt arguments in support of his main thesis: that oil brings more trouble than prosperity. On the other hand, I feel the author falls short in describing the best solutions to the problems oil left behind and thus comes short of being a stellar book. That being said, I enjoyed the book and recommend reading it.

Further recommendations: “The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality” by Richard Heinberg, “The Crash Course” by Chris Martenson, “The Post-American World 2.0” by Fareed Zakaria, and “Aftershock” by Robert B. Reich.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was interested to see how this book held up since its release in 2009. There is no new insight or information. Capitalistism and greed are reoccurring human conditions which only see dollar signs and not the detrimental impact that quest for money has.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a dated hatchet job on the oil industry from approx 2008 - middle eastern wars, climate change, environmental degradation, Islamic fundamentalism, corrupt dictators and incompetent idealists, there are few scourges the author does not want to blame on the evils of oil.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging read, good pacing.

[c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oil is all sorts of dirty.

[Michèle Marchand · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dry but it's a very educational book. I respect how much research was put into it. I wish everyone would read this to understand how our consumption habits impact the rest of the world.

[Mel Stead]

Review from the March 2011 issue of the Socialist Standard:

https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...

[Mia Beams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially a thematic travelogue. Sixteen years old the age is showing, but many of the narratives are still relevant.

[David Braimah]

2014