The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil Companies and The World They Shaped [Mass Market Paperback]

Anthony Sampson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1991

In the beginning was Rockefeller - the world's first oil monopoly. Then came the "seven sisters" - Esso, Gulf, Texaco, Chevron, Mobil, Shell and BP - dominating the production, refining, distribution and supply of crude oil across the globe. The shift of power towards the producing countries, particularly the Arabs and Iran, was in turn followed by the collapse of the oil price. Two of the original seven - Gulf and Texaco - collapsed. The story of the control and exploitation of the world's single most important resource is told in this book.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 414 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (May 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553242377
• ISBN-13: 978-0553242379
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,256,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good History Book!, August 17, 2000

By 

Melvin Hunt (Cleveland,, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil Companies and The World They Shaped (Mass Market Paperback)

This was a highly interesting book. The title,the Seven Sisters refers to the seven oil companies who dominate the world petroleum marker. This book gives a history of each of the seven sisters(such as Exxon and Shell). This book also tells of the shaping of the world of oil as we know it today. The Seven Sisters also tells of events that have occurred that have had bearing on the world of petroleum. All in all I found this to be a very in formative book that made for informative reading. You will not be dissapointed if you purchase it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History of Oil, April 4, 2000

By 

Mark McMenamin - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil Companies and The World They Shaped (Mass Market Paperback)

This book tracks the development of the major oil companies of the 20th century and their efforts to ensure adequate supplies, pacify oil producing governments, all the while turning a profit. The behind-the-scenes story of the turbulent oil business will fascinate anyone who lived through the oil crisis of the 1970's. Get ready for higher gas prices this summer!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply thes best hisotry of the Oil Industry ever written; of timely importance even today, October 15, 2008

By 

J "J of Hammersmith" (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil Companies and The World They Shaped (Mass Market Paperback)

Forget the more famous "history" of the oil industry "the Prize" this book is the actual history and it remains as relevant in modern times (I write this in 2008 months after the Russia/Georgia conflict and as the global financial crisis unfolds) as it was when first written in the mid-1970s, another period of great turmoil in world energy prices and global economic upheaval.

Ask anyone who lived through the oil industry in the past two to three decades if this is an accurate, let alone well written book they will answer in the affirmative. You will not get that universal endorsement of other accounts. What makes the big difference is that Sampson took the trouble to get inside the story and meet and understand what made the great oil leaders tick, why governments did what they did and what the geopolitical implications were.

If you want to know what really happened in the great battles and achievements of the past and get a strong insight into our own times of resource nationalism and rise and rise of national oil companies, you need to include this perspective in your reading (and re-reading).