Crude Existence: Environment and the Politics of Oil in Northern Angola (Global, Area, and International Archive) [Paperback]

Kristin Reed (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0520258223 | ISBN-13: 978-0520258228 | Edition: 1

After decades of civil war and instability, the African country of Angola is experiencing a spectacular economic boom thanks to its most valuable natural resource: oil. But oil extraction--both on- and offshore--is a toxic remedy for the country's economic ills, with devastating effects on both the environment and traditional livelihoods. Focusing on the everyday realities of people living in the extraction zones, Kristin Reed explores the exclusion, degradation, and violence that are the fruits of petrocapitalism in Angola.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kristin Reed holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a program consultant to humanitarian and environmental nonprofit organizations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (November 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520258223
• ISBN-13: 978-0520258228
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,667,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > History > Africa > Angola

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Customer Reviews

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5.0 out of 5 stars Original, daring research. Beautifully written., June 9, 2010

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Soizic (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Crude Existence: Environment and the Politics of Oil in Northern Angola (Global, Area, and International Archive) (Paperback)

Oil politics, environmental impacts, civil war, Western oil companies, inequality: these are some of the subjects and themes explored by Dr. Reed in Crude Existence. In the book, Reed describes how both off- and onshore oil drilling has contributed to war, poverty and inequality in Angola. She describes the partnership between Western oil companies and the Angolan government, relating how the profits from oil fueled decades of civil war, and continue to allow a semi-authoritarian leader and his allies to reap copious rewards while the majority of Angolans remain impoverished.

Reed conveys an amazing depth of understanding, drawing on a year's worth of field research that only the most daring researcher could do, in some of the least hospitable situations on the planet. She brings attention to a corner of the globe infrequently visited by Western academics or journalists, Angola, where civil war raged until months before she began research. And within Angola, she focuses on Cabinda, a little-known province that has been attempting to secede from Angola since before its independence in 1975, maintaining constant and continued militarization. (Cabinda is the site of the 2010 Africa Cup killing of several Togolese football players.)

This book should be read by anyone interested in Africa, civil war, the impacts of oil, and the "resource curse." Unlike many academic books, it is a pleasure to read - Reed has a grace with language, and illustrates many of her academic points with vignettes and stories from her many interviews and experiences.