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Black Gold: The Story of Oil in Our Lives
Oil is not pretty, but it is a resource that drives the modern world. It has made fortunes for the lucky few and provided jobs for millions of ordinary folks.
Thick and slippery, crude oil has an evil smell. Yet without it, life as we live it today would be impossible. Oil fuels our engines, heats our homes, and powers the machines that make the everyday things we take for...more
Thick and slippery, crude oil has an evil smell. Yet without it, life as we live it today would be impossible. Oil fuels our engines, heats our homes, and powers the machines that make the everyday things we take for...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
January 10th 2012
by Knopf Books for Young Readers
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The subject is petroleum, from history to the search for alternative energy sources. Many little-known facts are included. For example, during WWII only the US had developed 100 octane fuel, which gave a decisive advantage to Allied fighter planes.
The book’s errors in science create confusion and misconceptions that students may carry into report writing. Citing no reference, page 131 claims that dispersants used on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill “are 10,000 times deadlier to sea life than crud...more
The book’s errors in science create confusion and misconceptions that students may carry into report writing. Citing no reference, page 131 claims that dispersants used on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill “are 10,000 times deadlier to sea life than crud...more
This is an extremely readable history of oil, from how it formed over the millenia to the political up heaval and wars it has caused. I am not sure that all of Marrin's facts are straight, but he definitely touches on all the major points and he isn't afraid to show the ugly side of the oil business. I found it interesting and somewhat bothersome that he seemed to mention John D. Rockefeller's religious devotion. I wondered where he was going with this. Was he offering an argument that God meant...more
Black Gold: The Story of Oil in Our Lives is a welcome addition to the middle or high school library. The book provides a concise yet thorough summary of both the scientific and political aspects of humans’ relationship with oil. While focused on the US, the book describes the development of oil dependence throughout the world over time, and highlights the contributions of key individuals in the process. Some chapters are more scientific in nature – describing the process of oil creation and ref...more
Loved this book! The title and picture on the cover really grabbed my attention from the very beginning: "Black Gold: The Story of Oil in Our Lives". Everything, absolutely everything, we do in this life is affected by energy and everyone could benefit from reading this book.
The author, Albert Marin, first started describing how oil is made. He titles chapter one as "a freak of geology"; from there he describes how drilling begin and how people, such as John D. Rockefeller, became wealthy from o...more
The author, Albert Marin, first started describing how oil is made. He titles chapter one as "a freak of geology"; from there he describes how drilling begin and how people, such as John D. Rockefeller, became wealthy from o...more
As we all know, oil has been a benefit to this world, while at the same time being the cause of some of the worst nightmares, wars, and agony that we’ve ever seen. In many ways, most people on this planet wish that oil had never been found; if so, perhaps we would not be in the situation economically or socially that we are in right now.
In this new work of nonfiction, the author has provided everything from the very beginnings of oil to how this substance has saved lives, taken lives, and how th...more
In this new work of nonfiction, the author has provided everything from the very beginnings of oil to how this substance has saved lives, taken lives, and how th...more
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Richie's Picks: BLACK GOLD: THE STORY OF OIL IN OUR LIVES by Albert Marrin, Knopf, January 2012, 192p., ISBN: 978-0-375-86673-9
"And with the radio blasting
Goes cruising just as fast as she can now
And she'll have fun, fun fun
'Till her daddy takes the T-Bird away"
-- Brian Wilson & Mike Love, "Fun Fun Fun"
"Asphalt also helped the dead 'live' forever. Ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. But to gain eternal life, a corpse had to be mummified--that is, embalmed and dried to prevent dec...more
"And with the radio blasting
Goes cruising just as fast as she can now
And she'll have fun, fun fun
'Till her daddy takes the T-Bird away"
-- Brian Wilson & Mike Love, "Fun Fun Fun"
"Asphalt also helped the dead 'live' forever. Ancient Egyptians believed in life after death. But to gain eternal life, a corpse had to be mummified--that is, embalmed and dried to prevent dec...more
Black Gold explores the significance of oil in the lives of humans. The author begins by explaining how fossil fuels were formed. He then traces the use of fossil fuels from antiquity to the present showing how humans have become increasingly dependent upon them over time. Marrin places special emphasis on the ways in which oil has played a role in political conflicts and wars throughout history. He goes on to describe the environmental consequences of fossil fuels as well as their increasing sc...more
This is the sort of book I've been looking for and a perfect example of the use of YA nonfiction to explain a complex subject clearly even for adults. I learned a lot from this book. It talks about the physical origin of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal), the history of the usage of fossil fuels, how the modern industry started, how the history of the Middle East is all about oil (which I knew but had no idea how much of the history was impacted by oil) and finally, the issues with oil, such...more
An interesting and fairly thorough look at how oil has affected our lives and our world. For me, the history of oil was particularly fascinating. Marrin argues, pretty effectively, that all wars sinse World War One have been about control of oil in some way or another.
Marrin also clearly shows how our existing relationship with oil is unsustainable. He explores the pros and cons of alternative energy sources briefly, but effectively.
An all round good read for anyone interested in the environme...more
Marrin also clearly shows how our existing relationship with oil is unsustainable. He explores the pros and cons of alternative energy sources briefly, but effectively.
An all round good read for anyone interested in the environme...more
Albert Marrin's timely book starts out explaining what oil is and where is comes from, then moves into its impact on the world, particularly how it relates to warfare, both in the sense that more oil reserves make for a better army and in the sense that countries are willing to go to war to get more. The book also discusses the problems with oil--such as natural disasters and the dwindling supply and concludes by discussing some possible alternatives to relying on oil and the pros and cons of ea...more
7th, 8th, HS I anticipated a better read when I picked this book up at the library. I was quickly let down. Overall the book was too heavy on names and histories of the Middle East that wouldn't stick in my memory. I did learn some very interesting tid bits though! Like how horses created as much or more pollution/health issues than cars do. Plus a few more that I thought worthy of repeating to The Fiance, whether he liked it or not...Would be good for research.
What is the role of oil today? Have students heard that oil is a root of war? Yes, they have, but have they heard that oil affected WWI, WWII, and even Pearl Harbor? Many students have not. This novel explains how different fossil fuels are produced and how this impacts the world. It is also curious that automobiles seemed cleaner compared to horses, but the wastes are described in the novel.
Black Gold by Albert Marrin is about the history of oil. Oil has been around since the beginning of time. One of the first was found in Texas. They used to drill holes to find the oil.
The people who would be interested in this book would be people who love history and non fiction.
The people who would be interested in this book would be people who love history and non fiction.
This slim volume offers more breadth than depth in telling the story of oil - including the science, history and politics - from its making to our current struggle to find alternatives for it. Thought-provoking and informative.
An excellent economic and social history of the imapct impact oil has had and continues to have upon human civilization.
A bit too much canned history for my taste, but probably a really excellent starter for many teens out there.
O
May 09, 2013
Neil Hepworth
marked it as to-read
Apr 30, 2013
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Christi
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Apr 09, 2013
Weston High School Library
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Apr 04, 2013
HVA Library Nonfiction
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Albert Marrin is a historian and the author of more than twenty nonfiction books for young people. He has won various awards for his writing, including the 2005 James Madison Book Award and the 2008 National Endowment for Humanities Medal. In 2011, his book Flesh and Blood So Cheap was a National Book Award Finalist. Marrin is the Chairman of the History Department at New York's Yeshiva University...more
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“By the fall of 1918, it was clear that a nation's prosperity, even its very survival, depended on securing a safe, abundant supply of cheap oil.”
—
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