Customer Reviews

Crude: The Story of Oil

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Crude - The Story of Oil" is a disappointing book that did not live up to its promise. It came across to me as a polemic against the oil industry; dressed up as scholarship with more source references than I have ever seen in a non-specialist, popular book.

Virtually every paragraph has several notes. Even the two-and-a-half page concluding chapter has 10 references. But a profusion of notes does not imply objectivity or even completeness.

Shah has certainly been a diligent researcher of her topic, but unfortunately she has not translated her mass of material into an objective account of the issues surrounding oil. Maybe that was not her intent.

Shah is a journalist according to the cover blurb, and it shows. The book uses the clichés and tricks of reportage that are commonplace in newspapers. Rather than enhancing the arguments, such a style comes across as partisan and off-putting.

This book will appeal to those who share similar views to Shah, but it will disappoint thoughtful readers who want a balanced account of how crude oil has both enhanced and diminished our lives.

For such a slim volume - only 175 pages with generous margins - author Sonia Shah attempts too much in trying to explain the vast story of oil. She starts with the geological story of how oil is formed and the incredible energy-efficient punch it delivers. In her preface, Shah writes that in oil, we encountered "one of the most versatile, energy-intense substances ever known."

It's hard not to respect how harvesting this fossil fuel has transformed the world and literally powered global advancements including higher standards of living in industrialized nations uniquely positioned to capitalize on its enormous benefits. This "black gold" is primitive in nature and it spawned a brutal survival of the fittest contest in extracting and utilizing its resources.

But trying to explain the geopolitical story of oil is where Shah attempts too much in too short a format when describing the forces driving supply and demand on the world oil stage. On Pg. 154, she states that the United States' invasion of Iraq was originally going to be called Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) but was quickly renamed Operation Iraqi Freedom so that its "oily ramifications" wouldn't be discerned. Regrettably, this explosive "fact" isn't sourced despite her otherwise extensive footnotes. The "Blood for Oil" argument is a compelling and troubling one that demands a fuller and more rigorous vetting.

The important geopolitical story of oil deserves to be told, but isn't in this abbreviated format.

Anyone interested in, or hoping to get a job in the oil, natural gas, or coal industry should read this book. I recently graduated from college and have taken a job with an oil and natural gas exploration company and found this book fascinating! I wish I would have read this as a freshman geology major instead of a senior! This is not some "oil is evil" biased book, nor is it pro-drilling, it simply presents many facts in a fairly unbiased way.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.
First Ms. Shah's extensive research and cross-referencing is impressive and adds a lot of credibility to the work.
Second, for someone tackling an issue as polarizing and sensitive as oil, Ms. Shah presents a remarkably cool tone through the book, although I think her opinions are clear. The book does not antagonize anyone, as some activisty books tend to do.
What I also loved about this book was that it gave comprehensive treatment to the story of oil, focusing not just on the environment, or on geopolitics, or on capitalism, rather addressing each in turn, which made it tremendously educational and multi-dimensional.
Ultimately I would judge the book by its impact on me. And I can safely say that ever since I read "Crude" I've been looking at the world a little differently - and that for an author is a remarkable achievement.

I must say Sonia Shah has done a masterful job of covering the history and geography of oil very succinctly and brilliantly in such a slim volume. This is a good book on oil for those beginners who want to understand the politics and the economics of oil. As Daniel Yergin has said: oil has brought out both the best and the worst of our civilization over almost a century and a half and it has been both boon and burden. This is very well captured by her in her book. Those who want to or need to know something about oil in a hurry should find this book very helpful.

Hello I got the book within 3 days which is cool. Thanks for your great service. I really appreciate it

This book is an excellent introduction to the oil industry, without being textbook dry. The author's humanity and opinion breaks through the fact-based prose simply because the subject matter readily lends itself to condemnation. If you are looking for an unbiased book about oil, you'll never find it. This one is as good a read as any, and probably better than most. It really is a narrative of the story of oil.

I enjoyed Sonia Shah's book "Crude, The Story of Oil." Is she correct? I don't know, but this is an interesting book and a small book of only 229 pages. It's a quick read. The problem with "peak oil" books is that they are too political and are always trying to blame someone or some political party, and even blame history. How do we know what is true is true? How does Sonia Shah know? I found it and interesting and worth the price if you buy it used. Regards, Keith Renick, Saudi Aramco Oil, Retired

This is a slim volume in a small format but it is a big book. Shah, in a masterful review of the geology, history, politics and socio-economic effects of our dependence on this substance is both scholarly and remarkably readable. There have been many books on this subject,from Sampson's 'The Seven Sisters' of thiry years ago to more recent accounts such as Yeomans' 'Anatomy of an Industry'. Many fall into the trap of grinding a political ax, portraying the oil business as an evil conspiracy of NeoCon politicians and a self seeking industry, others are too heavily detailed to attract the average lay reader. Shah's work is neither. On the political front she does not take sides or apportion blame and in her succint and dispassionate exposition of the science and history of the subject she is both informative and entertaining. A recent review of this book alleged a minor error of historical fact and a few trivial errors of grammar, thereby dismissing the work out of hand.(Melanie Gilbert, Amazon review, Dec 04). Such pedantry surely misses the point. Minor errors of detail pale beside Shah's essential achievement here. She has confronted us with the terrble fact of our addiction to oil, an addiction that has now reduced us to the state of a herd of lemmings rushing headlong to the brink of what may prove to be our destruction. As with any addiction,no one else is to blame, the cure lies within ourselves and our collective will to draw back from the brink.

There is tons of great information in this book. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who's attempting to find out more about the oil industry, and its sordid history. I'm guessing that most people fill up their gas tanks each week have no idea of the tortuous path that gasoline takes from the time its pumped from the ground to its eventual transfer to the local gas station.

The negative effects that the oil industry has had on the environment will be felt for perhaps hundreds of years. I, for one, am very glad for the advent of Peak Oil. In fact, the entire world would have been better off had oil never been discovered.

Back to the book, Shah does a good job of covering an immense amount of information and condensing it down to a slim volume. I would have like to have more detail in some areas, but certainly understand the parameters under which she was working.

I highly recommend this book, even to people who are more inclined to view the oil industry favorably.