This Is Not a Drill: Just Another Glorious Day in the Oilfield [Paperback]

Paul Carter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2008

He's back on the rigs and back in trouble. Picking up right where he left off, Paul Carter pulls out more tall tales of a mad, bad, and dangerous life in the international oil trade. Starting with action and mayhem galore This Is Not A Drill sets an unrelenting pace that just doesn't let up, as Paul almost drowns when the Russian rig he's working on begins to capsize; is reunited with his Dad—another adrenaline junkie; gets married; hangs out with his rig pig buddies in exotic locations; gets hammered on vodka in Sakhalin; and spends a couple of interesting weeks in Afghanistan with some mates who run an outfit that just happens to contract out mercenaries for hire. This is the next fast, furious, and very funny book from Paul Carter.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Carter has worked in the oil industry now for 15 years. Paul has lived, worked, gotten into trouble, and been given a serious talking to in England, Scotland, Germany, France, Holland, Norway, Portugal, Tunisia, Australia, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, Borneo, Columbia, Vietnam, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Sumatra, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, China, USA, and Saudi Arabia. He is the author of Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse and This Is Not a Drill.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin (May 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 174175125X
• ISBN-13: 978-1741751253
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #869,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Failed Attempt to Recreate Lightning, July 12, 2010

By 

Mr. L. E. Stevenson "lucanus" (Sydney, NSW, AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Is Not a Drill: Just Another Glorious Day in the Oilfield (Paperback)

I absolutely loved Don't Tell Mom I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse [DONT TELL MOM I WORK ON THE RI] - it was witty, insane, and an engaging read which I simply could not put down. Foolishly, I presumed that this book, being the follow-up from Paul Carter, would be in the same vein.

I was wrong.

Whilst this effort does open with a story which would be right at home in Paul's previous book, that single yarn is the only thing in the whole book which reminds me of the other book. From there on, it becomes an awkward mix between autobiography, travel writing and social/political commentary. The previous book I could not read quickly enough as I wanted to see what crazy hijinx he got up to next. This book? I read even quicker, but more because I was hoping that somewhere further along there might be a light at the end of this tunnel of boredom.

I would whole-heartedly recommend Don't Tell Mom I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse [DONT TELL MOM I WORK ON THE RI], but, I would strongly recommend that you save your money and not purchase this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Paul's Best Stories Were in the First Book, November 26, 2009

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: This Is Not a Drill: Just Another Glorious Day in the Oilfield (Paperback)

Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse was one of the best books I've read in a while, this sequel however I think was rushed to cash in on the success of that book which I'm sure Paul and his publishers thought would mainly do the rounds of the oil rigs and not much else. With his first book I think Paul was sitting on stories for decades that he would recount to strangers he met in bars, at backyard barbeques and elsewhere. Everyone probably told him hey, those are great funny stories you should write a book. Which of course he did and did very well, however when the publishers asked for a sequel, it's obvious he didn't have many other stories left. You've got to remember the first book was the best stories from his entire life. The stories in this volume have either occurred in the very short time between the two books or are ones that didn't make the cut for the first. Most of the stories in This is Not a Drill have nothing to do with life on the oil rigs, there's even one retold by Paul that was a story told to him in a pub by his dad's drinking buddies which was clearly included to try and make the minimum word count and fill the pages. We do learn a bit more about Paul's personal life, including the joy of finding out he was going to become a father for the first time and the sadness that followed. Paul still does know how to tell a tale, it's just that the tales in this volume are not as good as his first book, if these stories weren't told by Paul most wouldn't even be interesting at all.

To be honest if I hadn't read the first book and had just picked this book of the shelf and read it as a standalone it probably wouldn't even rate as high as three stars. I had however grown to like Paul from the stories of the first book so did find the personal stories which make up this book a bit more interesting than I would have otherwise. If this is your only experience of Paul Carter's stories don't judge the quality of his stories by this or be put off from reading Don't Tell Mum I work on the Rigs.

If you've read the first you'll want to read this but I suggest borrowing it from your local library first before exchanging money for it.

5.0 out of 5 stars review, October 11, 2011

By 

Eddie - See all my reviews

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This review is from: This Is Not a Drill: Just Another Glorious Day in the Oilfield (Paperback)

If you have ever worked at sea or know someone who has you will love this book would recommend it . Service was great too.