The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil Money & Power the Battery for World Mastery

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The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil Money & Power the Battery for World Mastery

4.36 of 5 stars 4.36 · rating details · 2,344 ratings · 294 reviews

"The Prize" recounts the panoramic history of oil -- and the struggle for wealth and power that has always surrounded oil. This struggle has shaken the world economy, dictated the outcome of wars, and transformed the destiny of men and nations.

"The Prize" is as much a history of the twentieth century as of the oil industry itself. The canvas of history is enormous -- from...more

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Published August 1st 2006 by Simon & Schuster (a) (first published 1991)

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Jul 15, 2007 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Long, but soooooo good. Lots of people write books like How Soccer Explains the World, which you read and think, "That was cute, but soccer doesn't ACTUALLY explain the world." The thing is, to hear Yergin tell it, oil actually DOES explain the world, at least for the last 150 years, and I believe him. Extremely well researched and written, but also surprisingly lively and imbued with humor as well. Kudoes to Yergin for doing so well with a topic that's potentially so dry.

(It won the 1992 Pulitz...more

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Feb 01, 2008 Naeem rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: all people who can read

Shelves: mustreads

Be warned that Yergin is an apologist for Oil companies and doesn't have a critical word to say about capitalism in this 800 page plus book.

Nevertheless, I consider this a must read (I read it twice). First, Yergin writes like a journalist -- so the reading goes quickly and well.

More important, this is a comprehensive and thorough history of the commodity oil. When you review the history of the 20th century from the lens of oil, many things change and everything deepens. The chapters on WWII ar...more Be warned that Yergin is an apologist for Oil companies and doesn't have a critical word to say about capitalism in this 800 page plus book.

Nevertheless, I consider this a must read (I read it twice). First, Yergin writes like a journalist -- so the reading goes quickly and well.

More important, this is a comprehensive and thorough history of the commodity oil. When you review the history of the 20th century from the lens of oil, many things change and everything deepens. The chapters on WWII are spectacular. Yergin shows that much of the strategy of all sides was getting access to oil fields.

In addition this is the book that got me to take global warming seriously. Not that this was Yergin's intent.

Finally, there some good theoretical material here as well. The particularities of the commodity are grounded on the fact that right from the start of oil's history, the problem for capitalists is that there is too much oil! Yergin thus confirms over and over what Timothy Mitchell argues in his article "McJihad" -- that a glut of oil necessitates the creation of cartels that can reduce the quantity of oil on the world market. Only reduced quantities can sustain profits. (See A Century Of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order by F. William Engdahl, who argues that this is way the creation of OPEC was okayed by oil corporations and the US government.)

This can be a mind blowing read if you can filter out Yergin's glorification of oil capitalists -- as individuals and as a collectivity.

Ironically, Yergin does not argue for free markets because this would mean an oil glut, low oil prices, and limited profits for oil companies. What this teaches us is that corporations and their spokespersons are too smart to promote free market ideology in their plans and actions but smart enough to spout that as their rhetoric. Corporate socialism (that is what a cartel is, no?) for the super rich and free markets for the rest of us.)

In this sense, Yergin is the honest voice of oil corporations. He argues for the all the good oil companies create even if that means that they have to violate free market ideology.(less)

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Jan 03, 2013 Will rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Yet, despite all the controversies, the fundamental fact was that the Marshall Plan made possible and pushed a far-reaching transition in Europe - the change from a coal-based economy toward one based on imported oil. The short supplies of coal, compounded by labor strife and strikes in the mining industry, gave powerful impetus to that change. 'It is not a joyful thing, but it is a national necessity to import more oil,' Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hugh Dalton, told Marshall. Govern...more

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Nov 18, 2011 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As the title suggests, this book is not just about the history of oil. It's about how oil translates into money, and how a whole cast of characters and countries have used both to wield power. If you're willing to slog through the almost 800 pages of density, it's well worth it. Unlike other nonfiction told through one lens, where that lens is taken as a primary historical game changer, with oil it's pretty convincing. It turns out oil is just not another commodity. I know, you already know that...more

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Apr 19, 2010 baggyparagraphs rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to baggyparagraphs by: I met a guy in the Chicago airport who works for Repsol, the Spa

What a terrific work! The first thing is the quality of Yergin's writing. (Funny thing: In nearly 800 pages, I found only two typos--both within a few sentences of each other on p. 708.) This is the comprehensive overview of how politics has intensified the boom and bust cycle of oil's discovery and production. There are terrific biographical sketches of all the major figures: John D. Rockefeller, Ida Tarbell, Calouste Gulbenkian, J. Paul Getty, Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, T. Boone Pickens, George...more

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May 06, 2013 Ilya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An 800-page history of oil, the most important commodity in the modern world. Although petroleum was known to the ancients, its modern history began in 1859 in Pennsylvania when it came to be extracted commercially and processed into kerosene for nighttime illumination. When this market started getting saturated, the invention of the internal combustion engine created a new one. John D. Rockefeller monopolized the oil market in the United States, at one point getting the railroads to pay him a...more An 800-page history of oil, the most important commodity in the modern world. Although petroleum was known to the ancients, its modern history began in 1859 in Pennsylvania when it came to be extracted commercially and processed into kerosene for nighttime illumination. When this market started getting saturated, the invention of the internal combustion engine created a new one. John D. Rockefeller monopolized the oil market in the United States, at one point getting the railroads to pay him a royalty even if they shipped somebody else's oil, not unlike the business practices of a certain software company a century later; this monopoly was broken by the government. Oil was important in the First World War especially as the tank was invented and the airplane rose in importance. It was absolutely crucial in the Second World War. In their invasion of southern Soviet Union, the Germans captured Maikop but failed to capture Baku, and did not have enough gasoline as the Allies bombed Romanian oil fields and German synthetic oil plants. In the Libyan desert, Erwin Rommel's panzers could not advance because the Allies sank all transports carrying oil for him; in liberated France, George Patton's tanks ran out of gas before he could attack the Germans and didn't give them a chance to regroup. After the war, there were many oil-related smaller wars and crises. Egypt headed by Gamal Abdul Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, the main conduit of Middle Eastern oil to Europe, and the British and the French joined by the Israelis tried to seize it, but failed. Iraq headed by Saddam Hussein went to war with Iran in order to seize a disputed oil-rich region and possibly annex an oil-rich Arab-majority province of Iran; neither goal was achieved.

There are two motifs going on through this history. One is the fear that oil would soon be exhausted. This proved false each time: new fields were discovered in inaccessible parts of the world, and ways to extract more oil from a field were invented, though no one could have known this beforehand. The other is a kind of prisoner's dilemma: it is advantageous for oil producers as a group to form a cartel and restrict production, but it is advantageous for each of them to produce as much as possible; cartels have formed and have fallen apart.(less)

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Nov 29, 2011 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: economics, history

As a history and energy enthusiast I simply adored this mammoth of a book (warning: this book is both huge and has small print. If this intimidates you stear clear because each page is chock full of fascinating and detailed knowledge and stories). What I particulalry liked about it was the level of detail Yergin went into explaining the dyanmics of the oil market thorughout its existence, the major players that moved those markets, and the reasons behind why they made the decisions they did. It...more

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Oct 26, 2011 David Lentz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This Pulitzer Prize-winning epic work of non-fiction dives deep into the history of oil exploration beginning with its discovery in Pennsylvania. It draws a portrait of the entrepreneurs who brought maturity, innovation, technology and finance to this burgeoning industry which dominates so much of our economic landscape. It's impressive how much the need for oil to drive weaponry in the national defense of so many nations played such a major role as an impetus for the growth of this business. It...more This Pulitzer Prize-winning epic work of non-fiction dives deep into the history of oil exploration beginning with its discovery in Pennsylvania. It draws a portrait of the entrepreneurs who brought maturity, innovation, technology and finance to this burgeoning industry which dominates so much of our economic landscape. It's impressive how much the need for oil to drive weaponry in the national defense of so many nations played such a major role as an impetus for the growth of this business. It's also worth reading how so much power evolved from those who became successful brokers in the acquisition of land, the introduction of new technology, advancements in shipping like the tanker and marketing by those who acquired and merged to grow vast corporate empires built on this commodity. Yergin seems to take an objective historical approach in crafting the narrative, which is beautifully written. All the great players whose names have become synonomous with oil companies are revealed as well as lesser figures who gained and sometimes lost fortunes in pursuit of oil. The early pioneers suffered in many cases as their flames ultimately became extinguished sooner or later in their burning desire to bring oil to market. The characters read like heroic figures from an Ayn Rand novel in their debt to American society for becoming enriched by playing the game with ingenuity and without scruples in their "selfish" pursuit of exceptionalism. The narrative concerns itself less with the outrageous immoral excesses which the pursuit of money and power brought upon the people and landscape devastated by corporate powerplays on an epic scale by oil companies engaged in their relentlesss pursuit of profit. The subtext and context of Yergin's narrative is genuinely helpful in gaining perspective as to why and how oil companies have come to be concurrently the cash cows and social pariahs of our corporate-driven civilization. Never has social Darwinism been given more credibility nor been presented more heroically with an objective journalistic style which can't help get out of its own way in credibly glorifying capitalism on an epic scale. Every oil company should buy a copy of this book and give one to every employee: it will make you proud to be in the oil business despite the epic lapses of conscience perpetrated in the inglorious name of this industry.(less)

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May 26, 2012 Zachary rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wish I had read this book earlier in life. High schools should teach this material in history class. Makes one think about geopolitics, natural resources, economics, government, regulation, and so many other questions. History of the Middle East and Saudia Arabia/OPEC ... history of Standard Oil ... the World Wars ... just amazing.

This is certainly a westernized view of the Oil story but -- at least for me -- it generally made enough of an effort to show the different sides of major conflicts....more I wish I had read this book earlier in life. High schools should teach this material in history class. Makes one think about geopolitics, natural resources, economics, government, regulation, and so many other questions. History of the Middle East and Saudia Arabia/OPEC ... history of Standard Oil ... the World Wars ... just amazing.

This is certainly a westernized view of the Oil story but -- at least for me -- it generally made enough of an effort to show the different sides of major conflicts.

One of my favorite passages ... makes the 90s/00 internet boom pale in comparison...

"The phenomenon came to be called a gusher in the United States. The news flashed across the nation and was soon on its way around the globe. The Texas oil boom was on. ... What followed was riotous. The made scramble for leases began immediately, with some plots traded again and again for ever more astounding prices. A woman garbage collector was thrilled to get $35,000 for her pig pasture. Bug soon, land that had only two years before sold for less than $10 an acre now went for as much as $900,000 an acre. Much land was sold and resold on the basis of small, error-ridden maps, and with actual titles totally unclear. The town swelled with sightseers, fortune seekers, deal-makers, and oil field workers...Beuamont's own population ballooned in a matter of months from 10,000 to 50,000. ... Tents, lean-tos, shacks, saloons, gambling houses, whorehouses - all sprang up in Beaumont to serve the various needs of the lusting population. According to one estimate, Beaumont drank half of all the whiskey consumed in Texas in those early months. ... At the barbershops, folks stood in line an hour to pay a quarter for the privilege of bathing in a filthy tub. People did not want to waste time when there was oil business to be done, so spaces near the head of the long line at the outdoor conveniences went for as much as one dollar. Some people made forty or fifty dollars a day, standing in line and selling their spaces to those who didn't have time to wait."

(less)

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Sep 04, 2011 Tom rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had been wanting to read this for a long time (7 years or so) and when it was finally available on kindle I went for it. It was well worth reading and will be part of the syllabus for my course on history through the lens of economics but I feel I struggled with it more than I should. Maybe it is because I was anticipating it for so long but I do blame myself, not the book.

One real question it raises is how much of the great economic progress over the last 150 years is due to oil. definitely...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Keith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great book about the history of oil, starting in Pennsylvania in the 1800's to present day. Starts with Standard oil dominance in the industry, through other countries starting to see the potentian and strategic need for oil. Then the economic crisis as the middle east wakes up to the fact we are exploiting their valuable assets to the hodgepodge that the world configuration of which companies and countries control, find, distribute the oil. The writing is excellent and the story compelling. For...more

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Aug 06, 2009 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oil is the thread connecting 130 years of global history through such characters as John D. Rockefeller, Harry Sinclair, Winston Churchill, King Faisal, Warren G. Harding, T.E. Lawrence and many more. Our oil addiction stemmed from the discovery of oil "seep fields" (think of teh Beverly Hillbillilies "bubblin' crude") in Western Pa.

The original oil boom sought to exploit kerosene as an improvement over whale oil burning in lamps. Oil fever waxed and waned until the commercialization of interna...more Oil is the thread connecting 130 years of global history through such characters as John D. Rockefeller, Harry Sinclair, Winston Churchill, King Faisal, Warren G. Harding, T.E. Lawrence and many more. Our oil addiction stemmed from the discovery of oil "seep fields" (think of teh Beverly Hillbillilies "bubblin' crude") in Western Pa.

The original oil boom sought to exploit kerosene as an improvement over whale oil burning in lamps. Oil fever waxed and waned until the commercialization of internal combustion, which transformed the US in a mere decade and is still transforming the world.

The story of oil is the story of huge historical themes and events: the rise and fall and rise of monopolies in the U.S.; the Bolshevik revolution; and the colonization of "protectorates" in Mesopotamia to create states like Iraq.

Oil was the lynchpin resource of both World Wars. In WWII the Allies destroyed Rumanian oilfields in a race against time against marching Germans and Turks.

In a lesser-known variation on the Miracle of Dunkirk, the French discovered the utility of internal combustion when the military drafted thousands of Parisian cab drivers to transport troops to the front against marching Germans. Without this improvised troop movements (and yes the cabbies were encouraged to run their meters), the Germans could have easily taken the capital and possibly ended the war with a different result.

Suddenly cavalry was "out." Tanks (a code name that stuck) were invented to break the gridlock imposed by trench warfare. Internal combustion also fueled dogfights in the sky. In months airplanes went from unreliable toys to 150 mph fighting machines, which were made obsolete by a new generation of war planes in only another six months.

In WWII we outproduced the Axis as much as defeated them.

Yergin set out to depict a fascinating historical sweep through an oil-filled prism. He is partially successful. He vividly recreates characters like Rockefeller, Teddy Roosevelt, and Marcus Samuel, the founder of Shell Oil who got his start selling curios and souvenirs covered in glued-on sea shells and also became Mayor of London.

But the journey feels more episodic than sweeping as this very looonnnggg book is splintered into two- and three-page chapters, almost each commandeered by a new Superhero/Master of the Business or Political Universe. He also over-focuses on the business dealings of Big Oil, sometimes to the point of tedium but often to the exclusion of the social side of the story, such as: What was really happening in Mesopotamia while the region was being pawned between England and France? Oddly Yergin's chapter on the rise of the drive-through gas station is more compelling than his re-creation of this "Great Game" between superpowers.

Still there is much fascinating between these pages and I will soldier on through completion--I'm up to about 1928, or page 224. (less)

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Feb 25, 2012 Mike Briggs rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Prize, by Daniel Yergin covers the entire history of the oil industry from its inception in Titusville Pennsylvania, includes John D. Rockefeller's rise to power and the Arab nation’s rise to self-control over their own oil industry. While the over 900 page text was the anchor in a graduate history course that I recently completed, It is a great source for many historical events including Japan’s rise to power and the conflicts with the United States leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Josh Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

In its 800 pages The Prize begins to get a bit repetitive. This isn't strictly Yergin's fault - the history of the oil industry is itself repetitive. Still, from a reader's perspective it's not particularly edifying to spend ten pages on yet another story of gritty oil men who defied standard wisdom to drill in a place nobody thought had oil and then struck - you guessed it - oil!

I did find it amusing to read the utterly deadpan, confident claims of academics from 1860 on insisting that (a) plac...more

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Feb 19, 2009 Gill rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: asia, north-america, south-america, middle-east, academic

This book covers the history of oil. Some have called it a Whig history, but I just found it to be an extraordinarily fascinating read on the development of the oil industry. This would be a great book for studying commodity chains, industrial dynamics, and modern political history. What's missing? Well, more about the last 20 years would be great. An incorporation of oil industry impacts on national policy regarding pollution, peak oil arguments, and (one could argue) more information about par...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Nick d'Arbeloff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Brilliant, fascinating, but flawed.

The book is just. too. long. The Prize is the history of the oil industry. Unfortunately, it is practically told week by week over more than a century. For a while, this is very engaging; after 500 pages (when you're still only halfway through), you're desperate for the book to pick up the pace.

Yergin deserves all the praise, awards and kudos he's received for this book--primarily because the research necessary to write it is mind-boggling. That said, it's not...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Bob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If it wasn't 800 pages long I might have given it 5 stars - it is the quintessential history of oil, up to 1992 when it received the Pulitzer Prize. Absolutely fascinating insight into the background of the great American (and British) oil companies, the transition to the great oil producing countries (not just the Middle East, but Mexico and Venezuela and Russia), and the geo-politico-economic struggles and wars of the late 20th century. The central role of oil in the modern world, and in almos...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Charlie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

I feel that I should write a massive review to do justice to this tome, but I doubt anyone would want to read that. This book could have been either much shorter or much longer; it's current length leaves me rather dissatisfied. Yergin has compiled phenomenal research and applied a creative and fascinating lens to historical events. As various players, countries, and situations enter the sphere of Yergin's history of oil, he then has to provide background on them, struggling to find the balance...more

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May 09, 2012 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I bought Daniel Yergin’s The Prize during one of my semi-regular fits of intellectual hunger, which often strike after I’ve read five straight books about Nazi henchman and zero books about anything relevant to today’s world. After the purchase, I put it on the shelf. And there it sat, for a long, long time. It is, after all, a tremendously big tome about oil; it does not scream out to be consumed or embraced or loved. For a long time it just sat there, on my shelf, laughing at me.

Finally, one...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Alec rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Aaaand time. Take that, Prize. After a mere 2 full months, about 8 flights, and at least 2 pounds of lean muscle mass added from lifting this tome, I have finally taken down The Prize. Mr. Yergin, you are the definition of a worthy adversary, akin to the man in the black pajamas or the value menu at Jack in the Box.

The Prize is a book that, upon completion, made me feel completely ridiculous for ever having an opinion on anything (literally, anything) without this base collection of knowledge. W...more Aaaand time. Take that, Prize. After a mere 2 full months, about 8 flights, and at least 2 pounds of lean muscle mass added from lifting this tome, I have finally taken down The Prize. Mr. Yergin, you are the definition of a worthy adversary, akin to the man in the black pajamas or the value menu at Jack in the Box.

The Prize is a book that, upon completion, made me feel completely ridiculous for ever having an opinion on anything (literally, anything) without this base collection of knowledge. We live in the Age of Oil and, as such, this history of oil becomes the history of the world as we know it. From the World Wars to the oil crisis to the constant flux of oil prices, Yergin dives into the truth behind this complex and critical phenomena in a way that is completely engaging and rife with amusing detail.

There is far too much information to summarize in a review, so I won't even attempt, but I will say that the first half of the book was the most entertaining. The explosion of oil exploration with the law-less, wildcatting passion of the fortune-seeking oil men was incredible to read about and contrast with the nationalized, highly bureaucratic oil industry today. Then to see this era capped by the World Wars and oil's scale-tipping effects was riveting in a patriotic way. At one point, I definitely started chanting "USA! USA!" under my breath in a Seattle restaurant. Happy Hour is dangerous.

The critical relationship between access to oil and national security (not to mention preservation of way of life) is a theme throughout The Prize. As I read on, I had an interesting thought. Back when the Iraq War (the most recent one) was at its controversial apex, I remember people screaming things along the lines of "this war is only about oil!" and things of that nature. I don't have any interest in getting into the question of whether or not that war was justified, but let's just say for a second that those people were right, and that war was about oil. Is that an inherently bad or immoral reason for a war? Oil is the key to our way of life. Revolutions and wars tend to happen when one group's way of life is threatened or restricted (in reality or simply perception) by another. I don't know the answer, but the thought was interesting.

It is a daunting task, without question, but I assure you this book is worth the time. If anyone does decide to pick it up, I recommend grabbing a copy with the updated epilogue, where Daniel Yergin discusses everything that's happened in the last 20 years. It's not as detailed as the rest of the book, but his insight is still appreciated. Good luck to you all. If you need me, I'll be at Jack in the Box...perhaps a more formidable adversary after all.(less)

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Jan 19, 2010 Paul Donahue rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would give this six stars if I could. I hate exaggerating but I don't think I am when I say this book has changed the way I think about the past, the present, and the future. It's impossible to retain even all the broad points made in this book, and I fail to comprehend how someone could possess all of that knowledge at the same time. Many of the sub-stories fall into the "I can't believe that actually happened" category.

It is not just a story of the oil industry. It is the story of one of the...more I would give this six stars if I could. I hate exaggerating but I don't think I am when I say this book has changed the way I think about the past, the present, and the future. It's impossible to retain even all the broad points made in this book, and I fail to comprehend how someone could possess all of that knowledge at the same time. Many of the sub-stories fall into the "I can't believe that actually happened" category.

It is not just a story of the oil industry. It is the story of one of the most valued commodities in human history and the significant role (understatement?) it has played in the rise and fall of nations and the conflicts between them. Its role in World War II--its heavy impact on both strategy and tactics, as well as the outcome itself--leaves you endlessly contemplating one of the all-time greatest "What If?" hypotheticals: What if the Axis had an equal access to oil as did the US? That alone makes this book required reading. In the postwar world, the sheer coincidence of the Middle East sitting atop the largest sources of crude in the world has forged today's geopolitical relationships, conflicts, and crises.

Crude oil has gone from simply an upgrade over whale oil as a light source to something so heavily depended upon by modern society that oil companies are considered evil if they attempt to maximize its economic value. Oil has turned numerous luxuries into necessities we feel we have a right to. If oil suddenly disappeared, I cannot even conceive how our society would reconstruct itself. Yergin calls us Hydrocarbon Man.

It has some dry moments (inevitable in 780 pages) and, as it was published in 1991, you are left thirsting for a Yergin-penned update for the last two decades. But you will find yourself drawn to news articles about oil and other forms of energy, and you might laugh inwardly when driving by a Shell or Texaco station, knowing of the "epic struggle" that produced it.

It has overhauled the way I think about our relationship with the Middle East today, and has me now extremely interested in how we will continue to adapt to the scarcity of these commodities in order to energize our country and the world. They say money begets power, but in many cases throughout the past 150 years, oil has begotten money, and in turn, power. I have vehemently recommended this book to at least 25 people since I started it and will continue to do so.(less)

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Jan 23, 2012 Andy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, geopolitics, economics-and-finance, history, war

The Prize is an awesomely comprehensive history of oil and a convincing demonstration of how oil is inextricably tied to all parts of global politics, economy, culture, and everyday life. Starting with mid-19th century Pennsylvania and ending with the 1990s Gulf War, author Daniel Yergin takes us across an incredible array of historical events and introduces us to a wild cast of adventurers, businessmen, revolutionaries, politicians, and kings. Oil has played such a pivotal role in the last 150...more The Prize is an awesomely comprehensive history of oil and a convincing demonstration of how oil is inextricably tied to all parts of global politics, economy, culture, and everyday life. Starting with mid-19th century Pennsylvania and ending with the 1990s Gulf War, author Daniel Yergin takes us across an incredible array of historical events and introduces us to a wild cast of adventurers, businessmen, revolutionaries, politicians, and kings. Oil has played such a pivotal role in the last 150 years that I don't think you can understand our world today without understanding some of its history; this book is a great place to start.

The beginning of the book that explores the wild early days of "wildcatters" drilling for "gushers" is good fun, but where The Prize really starts telling you something about the modern world is when we enter the World War period. Yergin argues that oil was a critical aspect of the Allies' victory in WWII and the postwar economic boom, becoming such a critical part of Western life that it funneled tremendous political leverage into the hands of its producers. At Suez, in Saudi Arabia, in Iran, and at OPEC summits, you can see both Western powers and oil producers struggle to contain price, production, and profits while trying not to overplay their hands (which happened sometimes to both sides). Though the book is clearly dated, as it does not cover 9/11, the Iraq War, and the sustainable development movement, the diplomatic and economic battles on its pages do not feel in essence different from what you read about in the news today. And so while this book is a bit old it does not feel obsolete in the least.

One criticism you could level at this book is that it is a bit too sympathetic to corporate interests. In the Kissinger-ian tradition of history as the "memory of states," this book tends towards being an account of major corporations, governments, and the elite, with only the occasional jaunt into the everyday man's life. But those who have played pivotal roles in oil's history have often ended up being the great and famous (and infamous) men of world history itself, and so such a bias is not easy to completely escape.

Superb, very readable, also very long so be prepared (it's almost 800 pages not including endnotes and such), but totally worth it. (less)

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Aug 07, 2008 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

This book is a history of the world told through the perspective of oil - how the oil industry has shaped (and been shaped by) world events from the late 1800s to the 1990s.

Among the things I learned: the Allies probably would have lost WWII if Germany and Japan hadn't run out of oil; the Standard Oil breakup dramatically increased the value of the Standard Oil companies; U.S. "Big Oil" companies are, in reality, small players on the world market, when matched up against the state owned compani...more

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Feb 08, 2009 Ethan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: politics, history

An excellent and sometimes dense chronicle of the history of the oil industry: the science, the business, the politics, the wild personalities and tumultuous relationships that have made oil the elixir of economic success and harbinger of conflict. You will never look at the industry the same way again after reading this book. Yergin follows the development of the Middle East and the political environment in the U.S. and other major import nations, and brings to life the miracle of oil, captured...more

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Nov 14, 2007 Matthew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of oil during the past 150 years of civilization. It has fundamentally changed every aspect of our lives by sparking the industrial revolution, causing unprecedented population booms, and has lead to major socio-political upheaval throughout the world.

Daniel Yergin approaches the history of oil chronologically, starting with the early history of oil and then the first discoveries in Western Pennsylvania. Using the backdrop of wars and global even...more

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May 13, 2008 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, oil, capitalism

Yergin's classic book The Prize surveys a sweeping history of oil, and its storied relationship to War, Geopolitics, and Imperial ambitions. The strengths of the book are its thoroughly detailed accounts of events such as World War II, The Arab Oil Embargo, and the various European/American meddlings in the Middle East region. No other book takes such a comprehensive view of oil's geopolitical history, and at 800 pages this book actually seems short for such a major topic.

On the other hand, ther...more

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Sep 25, 2007 Cendri rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, to be fair, it is an 800-page 5-lb tome of a book. So it's not for the faint of heart. But if you can screw up the courage, it's without a doubt worth it.

In reading the book, one gains a renewed appreciation for the material factors that shaped and continue to shape our domestic and international landscape. The analysis of oil's critical role in WWII is fantastic. The history of the battles between oil companies and oil-producing nations, oil companies and oil-importing nations, and import...more

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Jul 13, 2007 Noiresque rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I plead with you, nay, beg you: read it.

This is, truly, a "must read." It is a history book, but a vibrant, stunning, at times almost unbelievable one.

If you haven't figured it out already, the world runs on oil, and has for a while now. And will continue to do so. It influences everything, and has played what was to me a surprisingly pivotal role in World War 2.

How can you claim to care about current events, issues, the war in Iraq, terrorism, et...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Howard White rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: political-history

A history of oil and its rise to the most important commodity in the world over the last century-plus. Yergin, the CEO/founder of Cambridge Energy Associates, does a masterful job of chronicling oil and its ongoing effects on history, particularly since the first successful well in Pennsylvania by "Colonel" Edwin Drake in 1859,the first true gushers at Spindletop near Beaumont, TX, in 1901, through exploration and discoveries in the Middle East starting in the '30s, the second world war, and bey...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Petter Sund rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Easily one of the best books I have ever read, and one that I learned the most from. The main reason is, besides that it is excellently written, my interest in the subject. The Price gives you the history of oil. I read a maximum of 1 chapter/day and I took breaks when I felt that I wasn't completely focused.

Oil has formed history unlike any other commodity and forms part of our life unlike any other commodity. The world wars, plastics, travel, fertilizers, the hydrocarbon man the list goes on...more

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“We have got to find a a new plan of attacking it. Something that will show clearly not only the magnitude of the industries and commercial developments, and the changes they have brought in various parts of the country, but something which will make clear the great principles by which industrial leaders are combining and controlling these resources. ” — 1 person liked it

“Oil men, like producers of other raw materials, could not continue to sell their products below cost...For prices to be raised, production had to be controlled, and to bring production under control, Ickes began with an all-out campaign against the "hot oiler,"...This bootleg oil was secretly siphoned off from pipelines, hidden in camouflaged tanks that were covered with weeds, moved about both in an intrcate network of secret pipelines and by trucks, and then smuggled across state borders at night.” — 1 person liked it

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