The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry--and What We Must Do to Stop It (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: white eagle, crude oil holdings, million lobbying the federal government, Big Oil, United States, Standard Oil (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this thorough, readable takedown of Big Oil, the most profitable industry in the world, Juhasz (The Bush Agenda) exposes the ways in which a half dozen oil companies have achieved control over American families and U.S. politics, triggering environmental and humanitarian catastrophes they have no intention of resolving. Within 10 years of Standard Oil's founding in 1870, John D. Rockefeller monopolized the refining, marketing and output of U.S. oil; ever since 1890's Sherman Antitrust Act split the company into small constituent parts, oil players have scrambled to evade regulation, regather into ever-larger corporations and regain the ability to set prices and control output. Debunking industry claims over recent oil price escalation, Juhasz exposes how Big Oil has used techniques like speculative futures markets and the "Enron Loophole"--along with massive operations opacity--to reap record profits year after year while growing their political influence; indeed, Juhasz locates the current "oiligarchy" making "the most pressing decisions of our time" from inside George W. Bush's White House, crafting policy and advocating war. Calling for a "Separation of Oil and State," this excellent, wide-ranging study of disastrous monopoly capitalism should shake up notions that major energy players are interested in any alternative to more oil, money and power.
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From Booklist

Juhasz is a leading activist and expert on international trade and the author of The Bush Agenda (2006). Her indictment of Big Oil traces its anticompetitive roots back to the founding of Standard Oil by John D. Rockefeller in the late 1800s. Standard Oil was broken up by the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, and the majority of the today’s well-known oil companies are its descendants, which have merged into giants once again. Juhasz shows how these corporate interests wield power in Washington, influence the energy-futures markets, deny global climate change, and obstruct the development of alternative fuels. George W. Bush received more financial support from the oil and gas industry than any candidate in history and named more than 30 energy-industry executives to key positions in his administration. As a result, the oil companies have received access to national lands to drill for oil, billions in corporate welfare, and the easing of environmental regulations. Juhasz advocates a course to reduce Big Oil’s stranglehold on our government and create an energy policy that would reduce consumption of fossil fuels and promote greener alternatives. --David Siegfried

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (October 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061434507
• ISBN-13: 978-0061434501
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #225,611 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Massive and Magnificent, November 10, 2008

By	Che Marischino "Riposter" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This timely tome is the best current overview of the oil industry out there, and the most ambitious examination of Big Oil since Daniel Yergin's "The Prize." I found it to be a lot more incisive than Yergin (who as an industry consultant, was reluctant to expose his clients' worst crimes, except as aberrations), since it is a more critical examination of the industry (in the tradition of the author's muckraker hero, Ida Tarbell, who she introduces early on), while being clearly written and amply referenced.

What results is a sweeping examination of virtually all the big controversies related to the oil industry -- from the recent history of weak antitrust policies to Peak Oil to Iraq and the relationship between Big Oil and the military -- to global warming. Given the volatility of oil and gas prices, the explanation of how the industry is structured and how futures markets work are particularly useful.

We are also introduced to people who suffer the immediate impacts of oil industry development -- from a poor African-American community downwind from Chevron's giant Richmond, CA refinery to Nigeria (where Chevron helicoptered in security forces that opened fire on nonviolent protesters) to Ecuador (where the company is being sued for dumping ten times more oil in a pristine area of the Amazon than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez).

The suggestions at the end of the book are bold but grounded in solid policy frameworks -- proposals that the post-oiligarchy administration will heed if they don't want to mere cosmetic and incremental reforms.

In sum, if you want one book that explains the key facts about the oil industry as well as the policies necessary to curb the threats it poses to democracy and our survival, read this book.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AN EXTENSIVE, SOBERING INVESTIGATION OF "BIG OIL" & ITS POWER, October 24, 2008

By	RBSProds "rbsprods" (Deep in the heart of Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Four and a half ENGROSSING Stars!!! Everyone should read this book if you want to get the real story of oil in the USA and around the world! Investigative author Antonia Juhasz has produced an extensive, sobering study of the oil industry with all of its historical implications, background stories, and relevance to today's problems. In 2007, according to Ms Juhasz, the oil industry was "far and away the most profitable industry in the world", even considering Wal-Mart's burgeoning sales. This book is full of cases that range from the very first US oil gusher, to the birth of "Big Oil", expansionism, the countering Progressive and Populist Movements, oil wars, political scandals, illegalities, manipulations, and the negative impact on the environment, the author points to the long-lasting effects on the world and our lives. She is not in favor of just summarily shutting down the oil industry, but she has some unique ideas of what to do with it. She covers a wide range of additional oil matters from the preeminence of Standard Oil, antitrust laws like the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Federal Trade Commission, the Teapot Dome Scandal, foreign oil companies, lobbyists, ICE energy futures traders, alleged market manipulation, the different types of oil drilling, and how we arrived at the current situation. Of special interest is the 1911 breakup of Standard Oil which was such a huge monopoly that it had to be split into 34 separate companies and also of special interest are the sections on the oil implications of the Iraqi War and Iran which are highly informative. The author 'pulls no political punches' as she describes the Reagan administration's initiation of the dismantling of anti-trust legislation, how the Clinton administration let the "Enron loophole" slip through and how the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations allowed thousands of oil company mergers, including mega-mergers such as Exxon with Mobil, among others. She describes how Big Oil exercises its influence from the 'price at the pump' to the "erosion of democracy, environmental destruction, global warming, violence, and war". And how much oil is left? The answers by her estimates are surprising and disturbing, which may explain the gouging that's currently going on. She states we must not only end the tyranny of oil in our lives, but also that of the "Big Oil" organizations. Then she explains why we must do it and how, using concepts that are workable if somewhat idealistic. As a plus, the author solves the mystery of some of those unusual oil company names, logos & acronyms. Antonia Juhasz has written an outstanding and disturbing book, with some moderate repetitiveness, that points the way out of the present oil dilemma to a better future by remembering past mistakes. The words of Henry Demarest Lloyd reverberate across the pages of this book: "For the ignorance of the public is the real capital of monopoly". Indeed! Highly Recommended. Four and a half INVESTIGATIVE stars! (This review is based on an eReader digital download.)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's time to bring the truth into the open, November 11, 2008

By	Kindle User "Robert" (Woodland, California) - See all my reviews

Antonia Juhasz's "Tyranny of Oil" is a well-written, scholarly work that is fully documented with footnotes supporting every factual statement. Her history of the oil industry is meticulous and revealing. People like Bojan Garic who dismiss this work with personal venom, like "this is the Worst Oil Book I have ever read" only reveal how desparate they are to marginalize someone like Juhasz who speak truth to power. Reviews like Garic's are to be expected when someone like Juhasz draws blood. Other reviewers, like Steve LeVine of the Washington Post have also been dispatched to spread the word that no intelligent, thoughtful person should read this book because it is so factually flawed that its theme can't be taken seriously. But Juhasz's case can't be ignored. It is factually documented where it can be, and it is tight, well-constructed and compelling where the evidence is only circumstantial. What else can one do in the absence of DNA, fingerprints or inculpatory tapes or e-mails? Juhasz readily admits that she has no smoking gun regarding the roll of Big Oil in America's debacle in Iraq, but she, neverhteless, says what needs to be said. She tells us what the 850 lb gorilla in the room is up to. Garic and LeVine, on the other hand, try to throw up a smoke screen arguing that the Gorilla isn't there because we don't have enough DNA for a 100% match. Ignore them. Everyone should read this book.