Customer Reviews

Oil: Anatomy of an Industry

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Matthew Yeomans, whose career I've followed since I worked with him at the Village Voice, has come out with an superlative, concise, and authoritative history of the oil industry. If oil is the most significant industry of the past 100 years, this book is surely the most important and decisive account of that industry since Daniel Yergin's The Prize.

From the origins of the petroleum industry in 1900 to the petroeconomics of 2000 (and 2004), Yeomans explicates all - in a lively, engaging, and illuminating style. When a book captivates me because of 1) its confidence with facts and history and 2) its commanding langauge and voice - well, that's what I look for in a history. Yeomans has written what I think will prove to be the definitive account of what could be a fading industry. Whatever your politics, this is a book to buy just because the research is so good and the subject matter so important. If you want a cheat sheet to the next 20 years in Iraq, this is it.

I gave this work four star because I felt the first half deserved five stars but the second half only three..ergo, I split the difference. The author has done some wonderful research into the oil industry and the evils there-in. I learned much from the first portion of the book. It was very well written, had lots of good facts, and while not completely comprehensive, did give a great overview. On the other hand, the last part of the book was a simple rant on the author's part. While I might agree with most of what he said, It has to be noted that it has been said before, over and over and over again. It was like reading a "George Bush and Big Oil and the U.S. sucks" manifesto. Yada, yada, yada...it is getting a bit old. Other than that, I certainly recommend it and it is certainly one you will want to read.

As someone who studies Middle Eastern politics, the oil industry is a very natural offshoot of the general subject. While I won't make it a point to read every book on oil out there, I feel it's important to have at the very least, a basic understanding of oil.

In many ways, Yeomans fits these needs. The book is written from a sociological perspective as well as a political perspective, so the end product is a brief, but still encompassing look at oil.

Yeomans does a fine job explaining the basics of how the oil industry came to be where it is today as well as how it currently functions. I'm sure there are other books that go into more detail, but I felt this was a good place to start.

Something I did find odd however is that while Yeomans goes to great and convincing lenghts to demonstrate how vital oil is the world economy, he includes very obvious opposition to the current Iraq war. I'm not saying that he is inherently right or wrong, it's just that it seemed unatural to include this type of political content in what was to be a description of how and why the oil industry functions. Ultimately, the book wouldn't suffer from leaving out this tangent.

Yeomans also offers his take on life beyond oil, offering what I felt to be helpful recommendations, but the final chapter just seems to end out of nowhere. I wish this last chapter were a bit longer.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the book, but will certainly read a few more books on the subject to get a better feel for it.

Like other reviewers, I found the first half an interesting history lesson about how we got to where we are concerning our dependence on oil. The remaining narrative about the abuses of the oil industry were disturbing. It will lead me to other sources and make me wonder about the morality of those leading this industry. In any event, it should be a must read for the entire family. Everyone's children should at least know the history behind the most important product on the planet. God only knows if they teach them at school!

I'm in the oil industry and have read many books on the subject. All this book does is summarizes "The Prize" which is the best book about the oil industry ever published. It provides nothing new or even any original insite on the subject.

This book is not an anatomy of an industry it is nothing more than this authors attempt to push his political beliefs on the reader and blame George W. Bush and his presidency for all the issues that exist in the world. Ironic part is that 99% of what he blames the Bush administration for existed long before he ever took office.

If I want to hear about how bad George Bush is I'll simply watch CNN and save my money but not buying a book like this.

FYI - I am not a republican and did not vote for George Bush.

The blurb review looks a bit foolish to me, from the vantage point of 2009.

I have to say, though, I know the guy who did the cover. I thought this was a wonderful book then and it's only grown in stature.

Really, read this book! Then go look for the archive of the whole so-called "malaise" speech by Jimmy Carter in 1979, and realize the last 30 years have been wasted and worse than wasted directly because of people like Reagan and W and the many people in the industry spreading lies and astroturf. If people had listened to Carter, ironically, the criticism of the review might be apt - we might still be wondering about the didactic tone of the last part of the book. Now, I really question the education and/or sanity of anyone who would question it given the real state of affairs. Unless you're in the industry, in which case you live in a culture of deception.

"Oil: Anatomy of an Industry" is a journalistic treatment of a central topic of our age. Though Yeomans writes well enough to keep one interested, this subject deserves more serious treatment by established historians, world philosophers, scientists, statisticians, and experts in ethics, foreign policy, and economics.

I'm glad he wrote what he could, and I think his heart is in the right place, but it felt more like an extended article--topical and cursory. The material is not thoroughly digested by a great and mature mind, as I would hope.

To be fair, most journalists don't have TIME to do otherwise. Yeomans is bravely taking on this subject out of fear of present and future developments. His daunting purpose makes deeply comprehending the issues seem impossible.

Nevertheless, Yeomans provides a good introduction to other books, none of which seem to quite meet the challenge as I see it either. I will remain dissatisfied because so many of our choices as a country and world as affected by oil. Nothing but the best efforts will do.

A logistic note: Chapter 2 "Car Culture" seemed like a trivial interlude about Americans until chapter 7, "CAFE Society" where Yeomans explains why SUVs matter. Skip ahead, then back: "Today 97 percent of all the oil we consume is used for transportation and 70 percent of that goes toward keeping our automobiles on the road...

The most surprising realization is that we have the ability to GREATLY improve the extent of our energy dependency now, without any new technology advances. We don't seem to have the will. In fact, the Congress has created tax incentives to encourage the buying of SUVs and an SUV loophole for emission standards. We're creating enemies around the world, are sacrificing loved ones in ugly wars for control of oil, yet we won't take on the power politics in Washington! I felt rather depressed at this.

Charter 3 "Exploration or Exploitation" would also be depressing if it were not actually a story of how the indigenous peoples in Ecuador and Nigeria etc. are fighting back. This is the best chapter and has led me to buy the book on this topic: "Savages" by Joe Kane.

It's hard to believe most American would support the behavior of the oil industry--the killing of protestors and the destroying of countries and cultures--for the sake of their SUVs. No, it need not be this way; we can do better. Our future may depend more on our will than on a profound understanding.

The author did very well in the first half of the book giving the reader the historical context of oil. It's my opinion Americans are God-awful with history, or why things are the way things are. Though the book isn't billed as the "be-all-end-all" book on the history of oil, it started out as a time-condensed read on the subject; I enjoyed that.

But then the author dropped into activism. Claims and projections are made without much practical data. Rosy futures are painted in wide swaths without an mention of practical technologies or means to getting to the final destination. I skipped many pages in the second half.

I thought this was a great book.
Well worth the money I paid for this
book and was the type of information
I was looking for