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Oil!

3.63 of 5 stars 3.63 · rating details · 2,458 ratings · 371 reviews

In Oil! Upton Sinclair fashioned a novel out of the oil scandals of the Harding administration, providing in the process a detailed picture of the development of the oil industry in Southern California. Bribery of public officials, class warfare, and international rivalry over oil production are the context for Sinclair's story of a genial independent oil developer and his...more

Paperback, 528 pages

Published April 30th 1997 by University of California Press (first published 1927)

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Jun 25, 2012 Jason Koivu rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oil! is not The Jungle, but it's damn close. In keeping with the politically-minded storyteller's way of using a fictional narrative to drive home a point, Sinclair has this time chosen a California oil baron and his idealistic son as the vehicles with which to air his own beliefs about corporate corruption and greed. Being a dutiful journalist, Sinclair does his best to show both sides of the story, giving examples of how big business doesn't only rape the land, but also keeps the common man em...more

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Dec 27, 2007 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

Oil! is one of my favorite American novels, because Sinclair was fascinated and bewildered by the beginnings of mass-consumer culture here in the U.S., and his descriptions here of oil rigs, cars, radios, jazz music, and Hollywood are very perceptive and eye-opening. Sinclair knew that we were losing something of ourselves as we bought into high convenience--but at the same time he loved driving fast on the newly paved hills of Southern California. The opening chapter is a tour-de-force descript...more

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Jun 27, 2010 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Upton Sinclair drank my milkshake....he drank it up! I thought I was going to read a book about the oil industry in California circa 1920 but ended up with a book about World Communism. Oh well, at least it was interesting.

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Mar 16, 2009 Eric rated it 2 of 5 stars

'There Will Be Blood' is LOOSELY based on this book; that is to say there is oil drilling in each and there's a creepy charlatan for a religious leader, but that's about it. The first half of this book was excellent and gives a real explanation of how oil drilling worked at the turn of the century. The second half of the book is really about socialism, as the main character (the son of the 'oil man') struggles between the greedy wealth of his father and his belief in worker's rights. I found the...more

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Feb 03, 2010 Evan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Like many of the other reviewers here I also read this book after seeing There Will Be Blood. Enough has been said about the differences between the novel and the film, so there's no need for me to chime in on that topic.

Sinclair definitely knows how to tell a story. The opening pages narrating Bunny's and "Dad's" high-speed drive through the hills of California en route to an oil lease signing, grabbed me and kept me turning the pages. It wasn't until about half to three quarters of the way thr...more Like many of the other reviewers here I also read this book after seeing There Will Be Blood. Enough has been said about the differences between the novel and the film, so there's no need for me to chime in on that topic.

Sinclair definitely knows how to tell a story. The opening pages narrating Bunny's and "Dad's" high-speed drive through the hills of California en route to an oil lease signing, grabbed me and kept me turning the pages. It wasn't until about half to three quarters of the way through the novel that the narrative turned more towards a debate between socialism and communism, with some sprinklings of narrative that echoed the feel of the first half of the novel. Overall I enjoyed it and have recommended it to several of my friends who still believe in reading books.

A couple of my impressions of the novel:

While the oil industry and associated government corruption were portrayed in a damning light, I was surprised at how the majority of the main characters were portrayed in a balanced, human way - except for one particular character, I felt no one was portrayed as an extreme angel or villain. Being a muckraker, I had expected Sinclair to portray "Dad" as a sinister fat cat oil baron, rather than someone who was taking actions simply because that's how things were done in the oil industry, whether he agreed with them or not. In fact, Dad is the little guy who is - to a large extent - at the mercy of the large oil concerns who are really setting the rules of the game.

The latter half of the book gets bogged down in what seems to be a comparison between socialism and communism. Although propaganda at the time was trying to paint him as a communist, it seemed to me that he was more firmly planted in the socialist camp, though not 100% committed (despite his real-life work with the Socialist Party). He constantly brings up the violent aspects of he Bolshevik movement in the States and in Europe, but never to the degree of total condemnation. Bunny's constant inner conflict over which camp was the "right one" for him, left me with the strong impression that this inner conflict was a direct mirror of Sinclair's frame of mind at the time, and writing this section of the book was his way of weighing both ideologies and working things out for himself.

This novel paired with Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged would create a great opportunity for discussion in a lit. course or book group.(less)

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Mar 25, 2009 Jwm rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sinclair wrote with the fervent energy of a true believer, but the entire time I read the book, I approached it with the perspective of history in mind. History has basically shown Sinclair, and those who subscribed to his idealistic view of the "workers", to be wrong. The camps that he describes for (basically) a good Socialist society at the end of the book were tried, with great success. The problem is, the Nazis and Stalin were the ones that pulled it off.

This book was written in 1927 and h...more Sinclair wrote with the fervent energy of a true believer, but the entire time I read the book, I approached it with the perspective of history in mind. History has basically shown Sinclair, and those who subscribed to his idealistic view of the "workers", to be wrong. The camps that he describes for (basically) a good Socialist society at the end of the book were tried, with great success. The problem is, the Nazis and Stalin were the ones that pulled it off.

This book was written in 1927 and has nothing but praise for the Soviets, claiming that the only reason we heard bad things on this side of the Atlantic was because of jingoistic journalism that was manipulated by the power brokers. Again, history shows this to be categorically untrue, especially when Lenin himself referred to people like Sinclair as "useful idiots."

And the worst part is, I can forgive the weak writing style in favor of the ardent idealism - if I can divorce the facts of the world from how Sinclair viewed them. But it gets tiring, as the book devolves, basically, into a whiny drone about how unfair it is that there are winners and losers at all. Everyone can agree that there need to be regulations and a truly free market cannot sustain itself, but the converse is true, that the "workers paradise" envisioned by Sinclair is a pipe dream manufactured by propagndists and power hounds (look at the history Chicago, for Pete's sake).

The one disturbing thing is that the rhetoric is so familiar in the present day. According to Sinclair, WWI was about oil. WWII was going to be about Oil. Apparently that drum beat has been pounding not just about the gulf war, but about every war America has ever gotten into.

Still, I would love to find out how Sinclair would have reacted to the end result of Hitler's and Stalin's machinations; keep in mind that they were themselves representative of the Socialist State ideal: all are equal, none are special and all efforts are directed to the betterment not of the self but the state. Sinclair even advances the ideal of putting people in khakis only to get rid of "fashion" -- which again, is something the Nazi party did.

So, it's interesting to read this from an historical perspective, it just devolves into whiny idealism by the end. (less)

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Mar 25, 2009 Israel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

¡Petróleo! tiene un arranque muy enérgico, es decidido, con planes de atraparte desde el principio y pareciera que es una adaptación fidedigna la que hiciera Anderson del libro.

Hay que reconocer que el trabajo documental que despliega Sinclair es de altura. La perforación de los pozos, su explotación y el levantamiento del entramado industrial y social que se crea a su alrededor son descritos con detalle, ritmo e interés.

Sin embargo la solidez narrativa de Sinclair se despedaza al adentrase en...more

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Sep 26, 2008 Ralph rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't see the movie. And I had low expectations for Sinclair's work, as he's regarded as prolix and melodramatic, but this is good, surprisingly good--absorbing enough to make me ignore my surroundings and nearly miss my train stop.

While I'm only a third of the way into the book, it is something of a War and Peace set in Southern California. It's the story of Bunny Ross, a boy who follows his father, J. Andrew Ross, one of the more successful independent oil men, a self made man. Their lives...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Steven rated it 2 of 5 stars

Loved this book for its insights into the early days of the oil industry, such as oil men who insisted on using their own blend of gasoline and refused to buy any from the local stations. These pioneers were refining their own products, drilling their own wells, and building an amazing industry.

However, as the book progressed, I enjoyed it less and less. Sinclair had obvious affection for Russian communists and socialists, and the distinction between the two was interesting. But the objects of...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Paul Shirley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Few books have had on me the intellectual impact of Sinclair's "The Jungle," so it was with trepidation that I approached "Oil!"

Why trepidation? Because I was afraid that it wouldn't be as good, and that Sinclair's god-like status in my brain would be jeopardized.

I was wrong to worry.

It's true that I'm only giving "Oil!" four stars, but that's only because there were times in the book when I noticed that the writing leaned so heavily on description (instead of action) as to be a little repetitiv...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: glad-i-read-it, historical-fiction

Oil! tells the story of the American Oil scandals of the early 20th century through the eyes of 'Bunny' Ross. We watch Bunny grow up and become his own man in spite of the overbearing influence of his self made father. Bunny watches his Father build a properous Oil empire, often at the expense of others, somtimes allowing his principals (assuming that he has some) be compromised in favor of profit. Knowing nothing of Sinclair's personal standards or poitics, I would guess that he has attributed...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Ensiform rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

The story of J. Arnold Ross, an oil man between the wars, and his son Bunny, who grows up with a conscience and befriends a prominent American Socialist. As Bunny ages, he sees more and more of the corruption and decadence of modern society, and the way that governments are bought and sold (particularly those of Harding and Coolidge).

This is an epic, over 500 pages of sharp, cutting prose. Sinclair is outspoken and far ahead of his time on the topics of birth control, abortion, the hypocritical...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Martin McClellan rated it 4 of 5 stars

A tremendously fun read, mostly due to Sinclair's relaxed, precise cadence. His sense of language is impeccable, and he turns a phrase with marvelous acuity. Not as thick or impenetrable as victorian prose, but certainly not as terse as the twentieth century literature proved out.

His description of flapper culture, and the world of the West Coast Gatsby, was fun and unexpectedly rich. And for a socialist screed, there is an awful lot of non-villifying of capitalism. HIs theory seemed to be to t...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Christopher rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This is a wonderful book on corruption and graft in the oil business and government of the early 20th century that is almost ruined a horrible ending. Before chapter XVIII, the book is great as we follow the main character, "Bunny" Ross, Jr., as he learns about the oil business and all of its corruption first hand from his father. We see Bunny struggle to convey truth to power, so to speak, and to stay good and honest in a world that is revealed to be more corrupt than the oil business itself. T...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Emma rated it 2 of 5 stars

****SPOILER ALERT*******

Ever since first semester of junior year, I have wanted to read Oil!. The man reason I wanted to read it was because one of my favorite movies, There Will Be Blood, is loosely based off of this book. When I started the book, I knew that it wasn’t going to be like the movie, but part of me hoped it would be as awesome. Sadly, this was not the case.

Oil! tells the story of a man named James Arnold Ross, who is a self made oil millionaire. He has one son, who goes by Bunny....more ****SPOILER ALERT*******

Ever since first semester of junior year, I have wanted to read Oil!. The man reason I wanted to read it was because one of my favorite movies, There Will Be Blood, is loosely based off of this book. When I started the book, I knew that it wasn’t going to be like the movie, but part of me hoped it would be as awesome. Sadly, this was not the case.

Oil! tells the story of a man named James Arnold Ross, who is a self made oil millionaire. He has one son, who goes by Bunny. At the beginning of the story they are both very close, but as time goes by their relationship will fade. James Arnold exploits natural resources and his workers as a way to maximize profit. As Bunny becomes older, he begins to realize that it is unfair to treat people like that and he longs to find a way to help and stand up against the injustice. Bunny becomes interested in socialism and workers rights, leading to major confrontation with his father. This book also follows other themes such as individual thought, blindly following religion, corruption in politics, and contorting nature for ones own wants.

I can sympathize with Bunny because I know what it is like to clash with your parents. My parents and I differ in almost every political viewpoint possible, but unlike Bunny I try to never bring these points up. Reading about Bunny standing up to his father was motivational for me. Still it showed me that standing up against your parents doesn’t always go so well.

If I could change an aspect of this book, I’d wish that more of it focused on the history of the period, which would be the roaring 20’s. When I took the AP US history test, I loved reading about the presidents of the 1920’s and Teapot Dome Scandal, which this book was partly written about. Instead the story seemed to focus more on the fictional scandals created by Ross, which makes sense since it is a fictional story. Still, some more historical context would have been nice.

The 1920’s was an era of change and advancements. For too long the United States had been living in the misery of the war. Usually after a period of sadness in a country, there is a period of growth and advancements. Americans wanted to have fun again, and what better way than through advancing the arts. Literary genius’ emerged creating writing that would define America. T.S. Eliot, Alain Locke, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and or course Sinclair arose as some of the greatest authors of the time.

One of the first scandals of the 1920‘s was that of the Tea Pot Dome. A man named Mr. Fall was able to become the Secretary of the Interior under President Harding. The Tea Pot Dome was an oil field in Wyoming. Mr. Fall leased the land to Pan American Petroleum and Sinclair’s Mammoth Oil Company. He leased the oil fields to them, but only if they were to give him a very large loan that had no interest. The oil companies rewarded him by giving fall 404,000 dollars in gifts. That would be over 4 million dollars today, so it was quite the scandal. A huge investigation was launched and the private loan was found. The economy was hurt by the scandal, and other scandals like it, where people bypassed the law to make more money for themselves. When the government did not restrict the economy, the fat cats went wild. They were buying and selling from the government in unfair ways. The economy ended up being drastically hurt by this, because the fat cats were monopolizing the stocks unfairly.

Oil! goes along this theme of governments and big investors working unfairly within the economy. I think that Upton Sinclair is a gifted writer. However, I believe that sometimes he tries to get too political and it distracts from the story. I also found this project when I read the Jungle. The Jungle was really exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. However, once Sinclair would go on these huge rants, I’d kind of lose focus. He seems to get stuck up on some of the details of politics which don’t really seem applicable to the story.

Upton Sinclair was a very political writer and renowned socialist. He actually was pretty influential back in his day and the book Oil! caused quite a ruckus, (mostly due to the motel sex scene). However, his up cry about having the sex scene censored out would cause the book to become a bestseller. Oil! was very applicable to the situation in the 1920’s. He helped show that situations like the Teapot Dome Scandal were certainly going to occur again where there was a corrupt government looking out only for its own needs. Sinclair cared about the average worker, which I think is one of the strong points of his book.

I wouldn’t really recommend this book unless you can stand a book which is a little bit slower paced and if you are perhaps very interested in socialism. For the most part though, I thought that this book was pretty dull. It didn’t keep my attention and was a struggle to keep reading. It made me realize why The Jungle is more famous than Oil!. The themes of Oil! are still applicable today, especially with unions being thrown under the buss and politicians are bailing out banks and messing up our economy. I believe that this book really shows what is the most important in the end; the people. (less)

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Nov 29, 2011 Lindsay rated it 1 of 5 stars

Oil! Review
Oil! by Upton Sinclair tells the story of the son of an American oil tycoon, and his ethical struggle between being loyal to his family, and to his personal morals. The main character James Ross Jr., also known as “Bunny” lives a plush life due to his fathers immense earning through mining oil in Southern California. As new mining sites and projects are developed, Bunny finally sees the mistreatment of workers, and begins to question his fathers ethics. Oil! is a decent book at best,...more Oil! Review
Oil! by Upton Sinclair tells the story of the son of an American oil tycoon, and his ethical struggle between being loyal to his family, and to his personal morals. The main character James Ross Jr., also known as “Bunny” lives a plush life due to his fathers immense earning through mining oil in Southern California. As new mining sites and projects are developed, Bunny finally sees the mistreatment of workers, and begins to question his fathers ethics. Oil! is a decent book at best, with a seemingly interesting plot that is unfortunately muddled with boring and unnecessary facts and characters that make reading it a hard and daunting task. I would not recommend Oil! to very many people for this reason.
Upton Sinclair, famous for writing other novels like The Jungle, Sylvia and The Lanny Budd series has been said to be "a man with every gift except humor and silence." The is exactly how I received Oil!. While it addressed many tough issues most people face like, standing up to your parents, and following you dreams, and confronted many moral and social dilemma's, it was extremely dry and hard to follow. Oil! no doubt played a part in creating social change among mistreated miners and helped to start many unions, yet I found it nearly impossible to get through the books entirety.
The language Sinclair uses in Oil! show cases a completely different time in American history, yet it requires much analyzing to truly understand what he is trying to communicate. Said on page 196, “...all this terric power felt its hand suddenly grasped by a stronger hand, and drawn back from the throat of its victim! Another god descended from a machine - a lean old Yankee divinity, with a white goatee and a suit made of red and white stripes with ble stars spangled over it; Uncle Sam himself stretched out his mighty hand, and declared that oil workers were human beings as well as citizens, and would be protected in their rights as both!” It takes numerous read-overs to really begin to understand what is being conveyed in many parts of the book, and it is not a novel that can be taken lightly. It requires constant attention and thought, unlike less heavy books that can be read without your full attention.
In the end, with a powerful plot and confusing language, I give Oil! a 1 out of 5 rating. Not as compelling as The Jungle, but still requiring just as much attention and analyzing. I would recommend Oil! only to people who enjoy reading challenging books, and have an interest in the oil mining industry or workers rights. (less)

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Oct 17, 2011 Dalton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Upton Sinclair's "Oil" is yet another in a long line of his progressive books. He is a well know reformer, with his most famous book,"the Jungle," bringing about many changes in the meat packing industry. Although not as widely read, this novel is just as effective at making it's point as his other works.
In writing this novel his purpose remains constant, an attempt to expose the greed that drives a capitalist economy. He shows the greed, corruption, and class warfare that were constant during...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Like most people, I read this after the movie came out. Of course it has nothing to do with the movie. It is simple socialist propaganda out of the pages of the Appeal to Reason or some other periodical, just like the Jungle. I, of course, like that. Most people are as ignorant of America's participation in the Russian Civil War on the side of the Whites today as they were then. Why not get them thinking about it, whether in a serial in a socialist paper or a classic novel. Each episode, whether...more

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Jun 22, 2011 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Don’t be deceived by the little byline on the front of new printings of this novel that says “The Inspiration for the Paramount blah blah blah movie ‘There Will Be Blood’.” From what I’ve heard from people who have seen the movie – this book is nothing like the film. In general theme, possibly, and they’ve stolen some of the characters’ names to use for their own purposes. But this is the extent of the similarity.

This is mostly the story of the rise and fall of the James Arnold Ross oil fortune...more Don’t be deceived by the little byline on the front of new printings of this novel that says “The Inspiration for the Paramount blah blah blah movie ‘There Will Be Blood’.” From what I’ve heard from people who have seen the movie – this book is nothing like the film. In general theme, possibly, and they’ve stolen some of the characters’ names to use for their own purposes. But this is the extent of the similarity.

This is mostly the story of the rise and fall of the James Arnold Ross oil fortune as seen through the eyes of James Arnold Ross Jr. – called “Bunny” throughout the book. Bunny is completely an innocent idealist. He fails to recognize the majority of his father’s dealings are dirty and his belief in the inherent goodness of people is only reinforced when he meets up with Paul Watkins. Paul is several years his senior and the eldest son in a very poor and very religious family. Bunny is mostly interested in Paul’s seemingly pure spirit and when Paul mentions his family’s house sits on land that could be a big oil field, Bunny uses this information to get his father interested in the land simply so he can help out Paul’s impoverished family.

While investigating the land, Bunny also becomes acquainted with Ruth, Paul’s devoted sister, and Eli, Paul’s fervently religious brother. These individuals play pivotal roles as the concepts of light and dark, dirty and pure are explored throughout the novel. Bunny’s comfortable and wealthy life is contrasted with Paul’s as Bunny assists his father in gaining more and more wealth and Paul is sent off to war.

When first there’s an oil strike and then Bunny begins attending college, he’s introduced to Bolshevism and idea that what his father is doing may be less than honest. Then Paul returns from Russia as a socialist, and Bunny’s opinions concerning big business and the rights of the worker are more solidified as he continues in his idolization of Paul. Despite his opinions being the very definition of opposition to what he works for, Bunny’s father continues to support him and his socialist friends while still fighting to eke as much money as he can from the average man’s pocket. Their differences come to a head when Bunny’s father finds himself being forced to flee the country after getting in a partnership with a man named Vernon Roscoe – who sticks his fingers into the government and attempts to buy two successive Presidencies and jilt the military out of cheap oil.(less)

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Oct 13, 2010 Margot rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oil! is one of those books that is diverse enough to appeal to a broad audience. On one hand, it takes a beautiful snapshot of life in Southern California in the 1920s - the landscape, the culture, the business, the film industry. On the other, it's a novel about politics, money, and economics.

The characters are just as diverse, and they are real people - complex and well developed. There are no villains in this book, even among the most corrupt and power-hungry characters. Everyone's actions a...more

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Dec 23, 2009 Jim rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review is based on 3/4 of the book. As much as I tried, I just could not force myself to finish it. Upton Sinclair is a fantastic storyteller and the first half of the book is great. His opening scene of driving through So Cal is excellent. He has a nice mix of descriptive prose, humor and a keen eye for things. If you've seen the movie "There Will Be Blood", its nothing like the book. I don't know how it can even be said the movie is based on it.

Sinclair was also a flaming communist and u...more

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Jun 16, 2009 Daniel Montgolfier rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: communists, socialists, marxists, and anyone else to the radical left

Recommended to Daniel by: Jaron Gaier/ Hollywood

If you liked Grapes of Wrath, I think you'll like this one. Similar to Steinbeck's epic of the American West during the Great Depression, Sinclair's masterpiece is seasoned with political overtones, satire, heart-breaking realism, and a cold anger at the capitalist system that chokes the incomes of the hard workers of our young nation. However, what is most interesting about this work is how it differs from the film adaptation, "There Will Be Blood". At times Paul Thomas Andersen has departed co...more

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Apr 26, 2009 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thinking-man-s-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 16, 2011 Evan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There probably isn't much to say about this book that hasn't already been said, but there are perhaps some really salient take-home points. Time Magazine said of Upton Sinclair that he was a man who possessed every gift except "humor and silence." That's true, certainly, of Oil!. This is probably going to read less as a book review than as a practical assessment of the book's veracity; that is, is Sinclair using fiction to tell the truth?

The main success of the book is going to seem strange to p...more

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Feb 22, 2008 Todd rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: oil men

After the incredible experience of THERE WILL BE BLOOD, I had to read the inspiration for the movie. It's no less compelling, fascinating, nor epic. It's also completely different from the movie it "inspired" in terms of plot. "Oil!" is more political, more historical, more satirical, and best of all, it captures a time and place I knew very little about going into the book (even after seeing the movie twice). Highly recommended reading.

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Jan 09, 2013 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was surprisingly good and the momentum definitely grew as the story went on. It's mostly talked about as a criticism of the early CA oil industry, especially with regards to the treatment of unions and "radical syndicalism." As far as that goes: met my fairly high expectations (except for the last paragraph which was a bit heavy handed). The surprising part for me was the Bunny character. His struggle to do what's right, really even to know what's right, and to reconcile that with his love...more

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Mar 08, 2013 thegift rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: unitedstateslit, society, xlong-over-100kwords

this is a rec from a friend who reads crime. this is an unusual book- i will not damn with faint praise, i cannot call it naive, as if i know better, or innocent, as it does know suffering, but maybe the term is... earnest. there is no irony, no parody, no superior attitude...

it makes me think of other work from the same era, classics such as hemingway or f scott, and arguments about art and propaganda, about false consciousness, about this entire unremarked history of the american body politic...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Aleesa rated it 3 of 5 stars

I absolutely loathed that movie that was supposedly based on this book. What was it called? "There Will Be Blood." Fortunately, I hadn't read the book yet or I would have hated it even more.

I'd read The Jungle and loved it, and had read a bit about Upton Sinclair. I could not believe that Upton Sinclair would have written anything at all like "There Will Be Blood."

He didn't. He didn't write anything like that at all. That movie was so loosely based on Oil! that I don't understand why any eleme...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Pedro Cabiya rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's a little hard for me to fathom how this book "inspired" There Will Be Blood. The film narrative is dark and Daniel Day-Lewis's character is brooding, hateful and intense. Daniel Plainview's poisonous temperament and greed couldn't be farther from J. Arnold Ross, the optimistic, no-nonsense oil man in the book, father of Bunny Ross, his idealist "red" heir. The novel is really a vindictive account of president Harding's corrupt government, the penetration of Bolshevism in the US with its con...more

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Nov 09, 2012 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Absolutely brilliant.

A disturbing look into the corruption and darkness present in all people and in the world. Such injustices and selfishness is unfortunately, completely believable.

'Challenged' is a good description of my current mood just after reading Oil! 'Disillusioned' would be close but not so accurate.

The most important idea I have taken from Oil! was never mentioned directly but is my response to the stories. It is that greed, lust, discord, sin, depravity, corruption, selfishness etc...more

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About Upton Sinclair

Prolific American author who wrote over 90 books in many genres and was widely considered to be one of the best investigators advocating socialist views and supporting anarchist causes, he achieved considerable popularity in the first half of the 20th century.

He gained particular fame for his novel, The Jungle (1906), which dealt with conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry and caused a publ...more

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Books by Upton Sinclair

The Flivver King: A Story of Ford-America

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Quotes from Oil!

“Dad, as a good American, believed his newspapers.” — 3 people liked it

“So the laws of good driving forbade you to go off the magic ribbon except in extreme emergencies. You were ethically entitled to several inches of margin at the right-hand edge; and the man approaching you was entitled to an equal number of inches; which left a remainder of inches between the two projectiles as they shot by. It sounds risky as one tells it, but the heavens are run on the basis of similar calculations, and while collisions do happen, they leave time enough in between for universes to be formed, and successful careers conducted by men of affairs.” — 1 person liked it

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avg rating	preview: Oil! Goodreads rating: 3.63 (2458 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54847.Oil_?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328041205l/54847.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54847.Oil_?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Oil! by Upton Sinclair[/url]

Oil!

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