Oil Man: The Story Of Frank Phillips & The Birth Of Phillips Petroleum

by Michael Wallis

A rich, rousing gusher of a biography that captures the life and times of an American hero and the birth of the modern oil empire he created.

Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum, was one of the greatest self-made business tycoons of the twentieth century. Here in Oil Man , Michael Wallis, the best-selling historian of the West, present Phillips against a pageant of luminaries and outlaws that includes Will Rogers, Harry Truman, Edna Ferber, J.Paul Getty, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Spanning the finals days of America's frontier West through the Roaring Twenties and two world warn, Oil Man is a bold, colorful biography of the original American entrepreneur. A classic work that continues to gather accolades since its original publication in 1988.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Business

218 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1988

About the author

Michael Wallis is the bestselling author of Route 66, Billy the Kid, Pretty Boy, and David Crockett. He hosts the PBS series American Roads. He voiced The Sheriff in the animated Pixar feature Cars. He lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very entertaining book and especially interesting as a retiree from the oil and gas industry living in NE Oklahoma. However, it reads like a book that was hired to be written to honor Phillip’s memory, not necessarily to give a warts and all story of the real Frank Phillips. I’m also always somewhat suspect of a nonfiction book with no footnotes or list of sources.

[Eliz]

Good reading while in Oklahoma. Veers toward hagiography, but still interesting.

[James K Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome life

This man died in the month. I was born in 1950. I worked in the oilfield all my life and I’ve heard his name mentioned many many times. I wish I had read this sooner in my life because it explains the devotion that those of us who worked in the industry and came to love it experienced.
The story it presents represents all of the good things that happen when I generally unregulated industry that provides the tools for all of us to give better lives is generally let alone to pursue its own goals. His ideas of regulation in moderation by the government should be followed in all industries.
All truly great man have the best interest of their fellow man at heart. Their personal wealth is never truly a goal, but a tool to expand the lives of those around them and in truth, the lives of all their efforts touch. It is a tribute to our form of government, economics, and way of life.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with so much history!! Especially around Oklahoma and Kansas. It is a commitment to read but worth it.

Frank Phillips was a very interesting person and did so much during his lifetime.

It is worth the time to read it.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read this book, but not because it was boring. On the contrary, it was very entertaining. I have always had a hard time reading biographies, so I suppose that has something to do with it. Plus, it was a hardcover version of a very thick book, so it did not always allow for comfortable reading.

The book is masterfully written by Michael Wallis, and I want to read more books by him, in particular his book on Route 66. He made this history come alive.

Now, I am a little bias because I work for a company that evolved from Phillips Petroleum company, and I live in the town that Frank Phillips lived in most his life and where his company was headquartered. This book gave me the history of this town, as much as the history of my company.

All in all, a fascinating read.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoy biographies that are not only interesting because of the subject but also because of time and place. That is certainly true of this real life Horatio Alger story of Frank Phillips and his founding of Phillips Petroleum in the Indian territory of what became the state of Oklahoma in the first decade of the 20th century.