Mr. Yergin undoubtedly deserved the Pulitzer Prize for this masterpiece on the history of oil industry. He succeeded in covering about a century and a half of discoveries and developments providing accurate information on historical events, national and international politics and key players, achieving to write a reference book on the subject.
Certainly no author whomsoever can be impartial - and throughout the reading one may well notice that Mr. Yergin is writing from a North-American standpoint. However, partiality is subtile and does not jeopardise his work's strict conformity to facts. Actually, it is only now and then - as in the case of Mossadegh and Nasser - that one might notice that the author could have stepped forward into a less contained critique of Washington's inertia and refrained from a more stark appraisal of Western European role.
Nonetheless, Mr. Yergin is probably the best historian of the subject, faithful to facts, besides being able to imprint a light and entertaining style into his narrative.

Daniel Yergin made is his name as an oil industry analyst by writing this book. As far as I am aware, this book is the best history of the oil industry ever written.

It is comprehensive and begins prior to the start of the modern oil industry, discusses the U.S. oil industry when U.S. oil production on U.S. soil was a major player in global oil. It then proceeds to the rise of middle east production, the formation of ARAMCO (Saudi American Oil Company), and winds its way to the modern dominance of the oil and gas fields in and about the Persian Gulf. You may need to check for an updated edition - if there is one - or supplement this book with the history of the oil industry within the last ten years. This supplementation is just a function of when this book was published. The book has not been superceded in its field.

This is required reading for any student of the global oil industry.

Yergin's opus is a compelling read but the plot falls apart in the paperback version - literally! The pages start to separate from the binding before you're 100 pages into your read. If your goal in purchasing a paperback is transportability the loss of entire sections actually makes the book a bit easier to carry around, but don't plan on lending it after you're done.

As a third generation oilman, this book, while now dated by about eighteen years, gives the reader one of the best oil and gas history books ever written. It was the last book that my father, a wiildcatter for over forty years, read before his death and he too was amazed how Mr. Yergin was able to take such enormous amount of information and distill it down into a narrative as if one were there during the major events that shaped the petroleum industry. If only the so-called envirnomentalists would lift a finger and read books like this, their credibilty as to the subject matter would rise dramatically. What is striking about this particular history book on the petroleum industry, is how Mr. Yergin does a tremendous job in informing the reader how petroleum actually brought human society into what we now call the "modern age" and how the industry truly affected almost every event over the last 150 years, from scientific advancements to world wars. I would put this book into the category of required reading for anyone entering the oil and gas business right up there with "The Greatest Gamblers" written almost a half century ago by Ruth Sheldon Knowles.

I just finished the Prize after 4 months and it was a great read. The chapters on WWII were outstanding. What America wouldn't give to be back in the days of $40 barrel of oil again! I now have a greater understanding of the Middle East and the history of politics there. Highly recommend this well deserving Pulitzer winner.

This is a great book, period! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this history of the oil industry. It shows the incredible power of Oil, the primary reason we have grown and become so affluent as a country....imagine a world without Oil...where would you be?
Should be considered required material in high school so that all students learn about a very important aspect to their daily lives.
I work in the oil industry and I learned a few things about my industry. I try to read everything written by Daniel Yergin, including his Russia 2010 and The Commanding Heights, exceptional writer.

After reading this book, you'll have a very good understanding of how the oil industry developed from its beginnings, for all countries involved. The evolution of the industry and companies involved is thoroughly explained, as well as their impact on the world economy and global politics to the present. This is a completely interesting book on the subject.

It delivers across the board: turgid vignettes of the main players, like Old Mossy; insights into events I lived thru but didn't understand till now, like Nasser and the Suez Canal. I don't have any complaints really, just two minor ones: the discussion of detailed negotiations tends to be long-winded, but otherwise that's not a problem. I know this is not a science book, perhaps because Americans tend to be scared by science and chemistry, but I would have loved to have had some chemistry and geology tossed in to replace the overly detailed negotiation accounts. This is a wonderful book, among the top ten non-fiction books I have ever read. Yergin has a wonderfully readable style, loads of information that is easily digested. I heard he was writing a new book about oil, and I am sure it will be great.

They say history repeats itself, well it certainly seems to when it comes to oil. Constant fear of shortages, constant complaints of prices and profits. This book is a wonderful look at the industry surrounding the substance our prosperperity is based on. A highly interesting collection of characters and situations. I recommend it to anyone.

Fascinating account of the history of the oil industry. I would say that just the four chapters on World War II--and the oil role in it--are worth the book. Reads like a novel, where Yergin jumps back and forth between history and details about the industry main players. And the amount of details that enrich the historic account is just perfect. The research done to put this work together must have been mind boggling.

Yergen gets kudos for being the first to cover this topic, but his account (perhaps because it's now outdated) is facile and pro-oil company. Every time the oil companies are thwarted he seems to blame straw men for it: tree huggers, the people that hounded poor misunderstood Tricky Dick Nixon, the Saudi sheiks (best friends of Bush, Cheney, et al). He never turns his gaze on the corruption of the oil companies themselves. We hit peak oil in the U.S. in the 1960s. The oil companies suppressed any attempts since then to find alternative fuels. Now we are up the creek, so to speak, with the Oil Men running the Show. Some "Prize". I'd say it's the booby prize. The best overview of our current fix is Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower.

We are living in the Age of oil.

World and human civilization have experienced different "ages" such as the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Gilded Age, and so on. The 20th and 21st Centuries are indeed, the "Oil Age." We are living in it. This book is one of the most informative and relevant books published in recent years, In my opinion. This work by Daniel Yergin was and still is prescient today, in 2007. "The Prize" tells the story of where we are today, and how we got here. It also latently foresees where we're going in the future. The book doesn't tell us - we just know. We're human. This book is so comprehensive and has so much information only a small portion of it can be noted. Below relates to WWII, and former Iranian leader Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh.

"The Prize" proceeds chronologically. And within the chapters there are numerous mini-subtitles for sub-chapters that connect the big picture. The bibliography and index are excellent and can be used to tie in different figures and historical occurrences. The 'history of oil' is actually the history of the world: humankind, business, innovations, globalization, war, and geo-political power-plays. The very survival of a nation-state is based upon oil.

"The Prize" begins with tiny puddles of black, sticky, goo, in Pennsylvania in the mid 1800s. Locals collected this goo and realized its many uses. In 1859 oil was struck. Almost immediately, the wealth and power amassed from possession and control of oil was realized. The initial trust acts in the U.S. are related to the oil industry, in which Barons quickly gained gargantuan amounts of wealth and political power.

Enter WWII:

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor because of oil. Japanese conquests throughout South-East Asia and the Pacific were motivated not only by the quest for dominance but for securing oil and keeping their oil (fuel) supply lines open. Without supply lines of oil, the war machine would completely break down, as it later did (Chapter 8).

The Americans sacrificed a lot, but Japan in large part lost WWII because of its lack of fuel for planes, ships, and ground forces. Domestically, the Japanese economy collapsed because of its inability to import oil. The Kamikazes were brought into existence after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippines, in 1944. Lack of oil meant lack of fighter plane fuel. Fuel supplies became so low they actually stopped training Japanese pilots at all. Pilots were ordered to "follow the leader" to the attack site because they didn't even have navigation training.

There was even an "Oil Czar" In the U.S. during World War II in PAW, the Petroleum Administration for War. The Oil Czar was Harold Ickes.

In the European Theater's Eastern Front Germany invaded Russia with Operation Barbarossa mostly to get the oil in the Caucuses (In addition to "lebensraum" and "untermensch" beliefs). In addition, a needed land-route to Iron Ore in Scandinavia via the Baltic SSR Republics was a factor. Hitler also began making synthetic oil because without enough of it Germany's war machine, domestic economy, and arms production were doomed. These synthetic oil factories were top targets in Allied bombing missions.

Oil and the Cold War World:

The Soviets dominated Eastern Europe and exerted its influence after WWII for 45 years because the Allies ran out of gasoline. When the British 3rd Army and U.S. 1st Army were advancing eastward toward Berlin chasing demoralized, retreating, and broken German troops in disarray. But because of the lack of gasoline for the Allied Armies, a million people ended up losing their lives and war was prolonged because the Germans were able to retreat and re-organize (page 388).

If someone says "it's not about the oil" today in 2007, tell them to read this book. Oil encompasses almost all things in our daily lives, whether we are are conscious of it, or not.

Oil, Military, and Economic Interests:

Democratically elected governments are overthrown by foreign governments because of oil. In 1953 Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was democratically elected in Iran. He was an anti-communist. He didn't like the 93% to 7% profit sharing split with a British Oil company operating inside Iran. He changed it to 50-50. The CIA sponsored a coup to overthrow him. Americans were repeatedly told by the U.S. media that Mossadegh was a communist and communist sympathizer, although factually untrue. The American public believed this propaganda, according to poll results. Gullible? Mossadegh was ousted and the Shah was placed in power. Democracy has never been supported in the Middle East and it isn't now by the U.S. government. Also see the Carter Doctrine of 1980.

Most of us as individual consumers literally need oil to function. Dependence upon oil is for the continuation of the nation-state, its military machines, and domestic economy. More critical today, is that nation-states need a *sufficient* supply of it.

This is a positive book. It's a history book.

We're in the heart of the "Oil Age."

We are living in the Age of oil.

World and human civilization have experienced different "ages" such as the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Gilded Age, and so on. The 20th and 21st Centuries are indeed, the "Oil Age." We are living in it. This book is one of the most informative and relevant books published in recent years, In my opinion. This work by Daniel Yergin was and still is prescient today, in 2007. "The Prize" tells the story of where we are today, and how we got here. It also latently foresees where we're going in the future. The book doesn't tell us - we just know. We're human. This book is so comprehensive and has so much information only a small portion of it can be noted. Below relates to WWII, and former Iranian leader Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh.

"The Prize" proceeds chronologically. And within the chapters there are numerous mini-subtitles for sub-chapters that connect the big picture. The bibliography and index are excellent and can be used to tie in different figures and historical occurrences. The 'history of oil' is actually the history of the world: humankind, business, innovations, globalization, war, and geo-political power-plays. The very survival of a nation-state is based upon oil.

"The Prize" begins with tiny puddles of black, sticky, goo, in Pennsylvania in the mid 1800s. Locals collected this goo and realized its many uses. In 1859 oil was struck. Almost immediately, the wealth and power amassed from possession and control of oil was realized. The initial trust acts in the U.S. are related to the oil industry, in which Barons quickly gained gargantuan amounts of wealth and political power.

Enter WWII:

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor because of oil. Japanese conquests throughout South-East Asia and the Pacific were motivated not only by the quest for dominance but for securing oil and keeping their oil (fuel) supply lines open. Without supply lines of oil, the war machine would completely break down, as it later did (Chapter 8).

The Americans sacrificed a lot, but Japan in large part lost WWII because of its lack of fuel for planes, ships, and ground forces. Domestically, the Japanese economy collapsed because of its inability to import oil. The Kamikazes were brought into existence after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Philippines, in 1944. Lack of oil meant lack of fighter plane fuel. Fuel supplies became so low they actually stopped training Japanese pilots at all. Pilots were ordered to "follow the leader" to the attack site because they didn't even have navigation training.

There was even an "Oil Czar" In the U.S. during World War II in PAW, the Petroleum Administration for War. The Oil Czar was Harold Ickes.

In the European Theater's Eastern Front Germany invaded Russia with Operation Barbarossa mostly to get the oil in the Caucuses (In addition to "lebensraum" and "untermensch" beliefs). In addition, a needed land-route to Iron Ore in Scandinavia via the Baltic SSR Republics was a factor. Hitler also began making synthetic oil because without enough of it Germany's war machine, domestic economy, and arms production were doomed. These synthetic oil factories were top targets in Allied bombing missions.

Oil and the Cold War World:

The Soviets dominated Eastern Europe and exerted its influence after WWII for 45 years because the Allies ran out of gasoline. When the British 3rd Army and U.S. 1st Army were advancing eastward toward Berlin chasing demoralized, retreating, and broken German troops in disarray. But because of the lack of gasoline for the Allied Armies, a million people ended up losing their lives and war was prolonged because the Germans were able to retreat and re-organize (page 388).

If someone says "it's not about the oil" today in 2007, tell them to read this book. Oil encompasses almost all things in our daily lives, whether we are are conscious of it, or not.

Oil, Military, and Economic Interests:

Democratically elected governments are overthrown by foreign governments because of oil. In 1953 Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh was democratically elected in Iran. He was an anti-communist. He didn't like the 93% to 7% profit sharing split with a British Oil company operating inside Iran. He changed it to 50-50. The CIA sponsored a coup to overthrow him. Americans were repeatedly told by the U.S. media that Mossadegh was a communist and communist sympathizer, although factually untrue. The American public believed this propaganda, according to poll results. Gullible? Mossadegh was ousted and the Shah was placed in power. Democracy has never been supported in the Middle East and it isn't now by the U.S. government. Also see the Carter Doctrine of 1980.

Most of us as individual consumers literally need oil to function. Dependence upon oil is for the continuation of the nation-state, its military machines, and domestic economy. More critical today, is that nation-states need a *sufficient* supply of it.

This is a positive book. It's a history book.

We're in the heart of the "Oil Age."

This book is the better form to say what means the oil in the world. The history is well clear end real. There are many important information and who is curious or needs to know the subject this is a perfect one.

I really appreciated Daniel YERGIN's book.
The history of oil is crucial to try to solve the huge demand for future oil. History tells us that oil is limitless in virgin deserts...

Excellent, well chronicled book showing the inside of the oil world history. Amazon shipment was a slick execution which makes the book more valuable..This book is a must-have for oil and gas pros.

Outstanding history of oil politics, economics and foreign relations. Even though this book was published in 1991 the information is not stale and the information on Sunni and Shia conflicts were well known when this book was written. Yergen who is also the author of "Commanding Heights" the proclaimed PBS documentary is an excellent writer. Althought I came late to the table to read this book it is still as valuable today as it was when first published. If you are interested in oil and oil policy this is a must read.

This is an excellent book on the role of oil in the world economy. What makes it better than many other books is that it has a truely global view of the oil industry throughout its long history. Its also not written for experts. Its a very accessable book.

Yergin shows how America dominated the world of oil in the first half of the 20th century and how managed its decline in the second half of that century. He shows that the basic problems of the oil industry (overproduction, underproduction and voliatile prices) have consistantly repeated since the beginnings of the industry.

If there is a flaw, its that Yergin doesn't give enough coverage to the oil industry in Africa and its role in the global oil trade. It gets occasional mentions, but not the comprehensive coverage the middle east gets. The same comments apply to an extent to south america. He could have also done a better job in explaining how oil money tends to distort economies from Alaska to Norway to Saudi Arabia in the same general ways.

The final chapter of the book is dated and some of its speculation about the future didn't hold up very well. But if the reader wants an introduction into the history of the global oil business and how it affects the countries involved, this is a useful book.

Most of the reviews here have covered in detail the excellent reasons for reading this book. It is a short history of the modern world begining with the first decade of the twentieth century. Daniel Yergin is a wonderful writer and has done a great job in making what could have been extremely dry history interesting and quite human. However, be forewarned, it remains somewhat of a chore. Three-quarters of the way through it I was forced to take a break and read a couple of novels before I could engage it again.

The most interesting thing I found was how fleeting ownership of "the prize" was to the United States who for nearly half the century was the largest oil exporter in the world. Middle Eastern oil exporters, although they increasingly gained larger shares of the revenue, only took full possesion of their oil about thirty years ago. Although the reserves of Saudi Arabia alone were established in the book as somewhere around 149 billion barrels, the resource is not endless.

What is also interesting and frightening is how oil quickly became the lifeblood of world industry and launched the unprecedented accleration to mass consumerism of the industialized nations, literally creating what Yergin terms a "fourth world" of poor nations without the resource or the cash to obtain it.

I agree with several reviewers, after reading this book, that without knowing the history of oil you are shortchanging your knowledge of history. As for the claim that Mr. Yergin presents an oil company perspective, I don't agree. Treatment of Rockefeller and the original Standard Oil is objective and fair. In fact, after reading this book, I understand quite better the relationship between our government and the oil companies. Although even with the loss of the middle east "concession", downstream integration of refining and markets left the majors in firm control of distribution and subject to suspicion.

The main point is that they are not looking for an alternative and that is where the future lies. A decade from now the hue and cry for carbon reduction will be overwhelming. Not so much for life of the planet, but for life of the humans on it who will be forced into smaller inhabitale living spaces, especially in equatorially latitudes. Their is another "prize" on the horizon and those who find, develop and integrate that prize will write the next history.

This is the one author who understands the industry and pulls no punches. I do not read 'history' but could not put this book down from the moment I read page one.
Fantastic!

A traves de casi 1000 páginas Yergin nos lleva no solo por la historia del petroleo sino a través de la historia de la ultima mitad del siglo XIX y todo el XX. Es un verdadero estudio enciclopédico, excelentemente bien redactado, ameno y bastante objetivo que resume como la historia política, incluso las guerras mundiales, son abrumadoramente influidas por el petroleo. Debe leerse.

The Prize is one of the best books I've ever read. I wish I could give it a couple of bonus stars in my rating here.
You'd really be selling this book short to think of it just as a history of oil, the oil business, and oil politics in the middle east. Even that would have been an ambitious book but Yergin makes it so much more. It honestly is a thorough history of the entire 20th century (sans the 90s) viewed through the perspective of the oil industry.
As each chapter, era, decade, and war unfolds in Yergin's story, you'll gain a much better understanding of the roots of many of the US public's stances on big business, anti-trust legislation, and other pivotal issues of the last 100 years. You'll see how pivotal energy resources were in shaping the planning and rationale for 2 world wars and how the ready availability or lack of oil played as much of a role in winning and losing those wars as did battlefield strategies and the valor of the millions of soldiers involved. You'll see the role oil and energy played in the final collapse of the great imperial powers.
Probably most relevant to 2007, the lessons Yergin teaches about middle east history, the changing power roles the evolved in the last 50-60 years as the power shifted from the oil companies to the oil producing countries. Tracing the roots of nationalization of oil production in Mexico and Venezuela is a great stepping stone to understanding out current relationship with Venezuela but it also properly frames the story of the origins of OPEC and OPEC policies. And it's so important to get a understanding of the power plays, who's who, back room deals, and longstanding rivalries that built and reinforced the animosity that so many in the middle east felt and feel toward the US and other western and oil consuming countries.
It also traces the missteps and failed attempts at alternative energy sources as far back as the turn of the 19th century, including how alternative sources for aviation fuel provided the German Luftwaffe almost enough fuel to keep going in WWII. And it's easy to see how most other western nations have failed miserably to make the alternative fuel investments that might have paid those same kind of dividends.
The history of how many relations between nations were built on the personal charisma and power of individual leaders is also a powerful lesson for the future when you look at what happens to those relationships when the leader falls or is removed from power. Yergin's tracing of the entire story of the rise and exile of the Shah of Iran is must reading as western leaders might all be thinking while middle eastern leaders and families might be in danger of falling to that same fate and what effect that would have on our immediate oil supplies.
Any western reader and especially readers in the US should look at Yergin's perspective on the fall of the British empire as partially a failure to efficiently transition from a coal economy (coal being a resource England was rich in) to an oil economy (oil being scarce in the British empire until the North Sea discoveries at which time it was really to late to matter). When the US oil balance tipped from exporter to importer and as that balance swings even more out of whack, US readers have to be forced to ask themselves, how long can the US sustain as a world power while exporting so many dollars in exchange for oil and even worse, how ill prepared we could be for a scarcity of oil 25, 50, or 70 years from now. The oil producing nations all recognized 50 or more years ago that their oil revenue would only last so long, that there are only so many decades worth of oil to pump out of the ground at a given pace, and that it was in their interest to maximize the revenue from each barrel pumped. The US and other consumers need to make the corollary discovery: that there is only such much oil to be had and we need to maximize the use and benefit out of each barrel pumped.
Fanatically, even though it covers all this ground, all these disparate topics, Yergin's writing is still incredibly readable and the story well put together. It's hard to imagine a history book that is a "page turner" but this one really is.
In short, if you haven't read this, you should. Maybe if every member of the US House and Senate and all the President's advisors would read this, a few light bulbs would turn on (compact fluorescent energy saving bulbs of course) regarding our energy and foreign policies.

Extremely readable. I enjoyed very much reading it!
This book is dealing with the vital commodity of petroleum in a very complete way.At the same time it gives to the reader a history of the main economic and political events that characterized the turbulent 20th century.

Simply, this is a book one simply must read in order to get up to speed on the history of oil in world history. It affects the way we live, our prosperity, our technology, what we wear, what we eat, how we build our homes and work spaces, and even how and why we wage war. The book covers the history from the time that oil was sopped up from surface pits, to the discovery of "rock oil" and its uses to make kerosene and cheaper lighting through the 1991 first Gulf War.

It has always been a wild industry with big winners and big losers. Huge risks have paid big off handsomely and even more often have handed out ruin. Those building and running the industry have gone to the ends of the earth and down to its depths to acquire the crude that is made into so much of who we are today.

Yergin handles this big canvas well. He writes even handedly about the development of the industry and its geo-political implications. For example, the decision to move ships from coal to oil in World War I had huge implications and added much to British Naval Power. We all know how the issues of oil and the Middle-East and Israel are all mixed together in a dangerous balancing act that has been used by a few for their own ends rather than trying to find a path to peace.

This is an excellent book and one that I think essential to one's understanding of the world we inhabit. Please get a copy and enjoy all it has to offer. The book is about 775 pages with another couple of hundred pages of notes, index, and a three page chronology of major events in the history of oil from 1853 to 1991.

This is among the best books on world history that has ever been written. This covers the history of oil from Spindeltop to Saudi Arabia. It stops at the first gulf war although a second edition is in the work to bring it up to more present times. Although a daunting length it truly is an amazing book that is well written. Once you start reading you will not put it down until the end so set aside plenty of time to read. This covers politics, geology, history, and economics in a wonderful blend that is smart and convincing. It is very well researched and Mr. Yergin does an excellent job presenting his material. Highly recommend and 10 starts is deserved for this monumental work.

To call the oil industry a business simply does not do it justice. When I worked in consulting, it was always my favorite area of work simply because of the importance and complexity of the issues involved.

Yergin does an amazing job of tracing the political, geographic, military, and economic impact of this critical resource. Weighing in at 788 pages, it is amazingly complete. I was impressed by both the breadth and depth of the material covered. Yergin is also a very good writer. He uses enough anecdote to make the material readable without reducing the weight or the substantial feeling of the work. My only regret was that he hasn't updated the book. I would be fascinated to know what Yergin would make of post-9/11 world events.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in the impact that natural resource and industry can have on geopolitics. Obviously also recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of oil.

"Behind every great fortune is a great crime." The fortunes discussed here involve oil. Two of the most interesting figures are Rockefeller Sr., who is portrayed as a miserly monopolist; and Gulbenkian, an Armenian philosopher and consummate businessman. Getty, the muckrackers, and other historical figures are also mentioned in detail. But Yergin's book--more accurately described as a delightful tome--does not stop there. He covers world leaders from Eisenhower--who stopped the British from re-taking the Suez Canal post-Nasser--to the Shah, who replaced, then jailed, Mossadegh.

A major historical omission Yergin makes is that he fails to note Kermit Roosevelt's possible role in Operation Ajax, which is discussed in Perkins' _Confessions of an Economic Hit Man_. Still, the scope of this book is incredible. We learn that oil was around one dollar a barrel in the 1940's (meaning our addiction to "black gold" is fairly new); that BP is the successor to the nationalized Anglo-Persian Oil Company; that U.S. and British policy wished to prevent Anglo-Persian's oil from falling into Communist hands, making today's current events especially interesting; that one possible reason we, rather than the British, have a special relationship with Saudi Arabia may involve FDR's superior knowledge of Middle Eastern culture, as well as his polio; that at one point, Venezuela and Mexico were our major suppliers of oil, with Venezuela supplying 55% of the U.S.'s oil; that Leavittown gave rise to suburbs (fun quote from its founder: "No man who owns his own house and lot can be a Communist. He has too much to do."); and much more. This book should be required reading in every history classroom in America. It enlivens history with its detailed depictions of characters who changed the course of world history. It is around 800 pages in paperback, and is, without question, worth the time investment.

"Behind every great fortune is a great crime." The fortunes discussed here involve oil. Two of the most interesting figures are Rockefeller Sr., who is portrayed as a miserly monopolist; and Gulbenkian, an Armenian philosopher and consummate businessman. Getty, the muckrackers, and other historical figures are also mentioned in detail. But Yergin's book--more accurately described as a delightful tome--does not stop there. He covers world leaders from Eisenhower, who refused to assist the British to re-take the Suez Canal post-Nasser, to the Shah, who replaced Mossadegh.

A major historical omission Yergin makes is that he fails to note Kermit Roosevelt's possible role in Operation Ajax, which is discussed in Perkins' _Confessions of an Economic Hit Man_.

Still, the scope of this book is incredible. We learn that oil was around 1 dollar a barrel in the 1940's (meaning our addiction to "black gold" is quite new); that BP is the successor to the nationalized Anglo-Persian Oil Company; that one possible reason we, rather than the British, have a special relationship with Saudi Arabia may involve FDR's superior knowledge of Middle Eastern culture, as well as his polio; that at one point, Venezuela and Mexico were our major suppliers of oil, with Venezuela supplying the U.S. with 55% of its oil; that Leavittown gave rise to suburbs (quote from its founder: "No man who owns his own house and lot can be a Communist. He has too much to do."); and much more. This book should be required reading in every history classroom in America. It makes history come alive with its detailed depictions of characters who changed the course of world history. It is around 800 pages in paperback, and is, without question, worth the time investment.

Daniel Yergin certainly writes well and has a good eye for a telling anecdote. This profile of the oil industry offers an important perspective on 20th century world history, and it highlights numerous entertaining characters. Although the book provides solid insights into the Middle East, it always presents a westernized (big oil company) perspective.

People who feel compelled to march with "no blood for oil" signs should be required to read Daniel Yergin's book.

This is a stupendous book. I could not detect any "right" or "left" political slant on the part of the author. Daniel Yergin is simply a master story teller, and indeed he has produced an epic here. Along with telling the story of oil, he also has told the history of modernity.

There are a lot of eye-openers in this vast book, such as an interesting chapter on George Bush (the father). Far from being an Oil Baron, he was a youthful adventurer and risk taker. When he graduated from Yale in 1948 he packed up his 1947 Studebaker and set off for Texas. He began at the bottom as a trainee painting pumping equipment, then became an itinerant salesman selling drill bits. He then started a small oil company in partnership with several energetic and ambitious young men and eventually became successful.

There is an enormous cast of characters in this epic; colorful, adventurous, up one minute and down the next, but always determined to keep working on, often in the face of the most adverse circumstances. This is the story of the real men and women who used their stamina and brains to build the basis for the energy (oil) upon which modernity itself depends.

And far from robbing the Third World of its resources, Western technology and know-how are what gave value to oil. If it had not been for Western ingenuity oil would still be just worthless gunk in the ground. Add to this the fact that by and large the Third World has been well remunerated for the product it found itself sitting upon. Corrupt Third World autocracies have confiscated these petrodollars for themselves. They are the ones who have robbed, and they have robbed from their own peoples.

The ignorant bellowing oafs who march and wave their "no blood for oil" signs should be required to read Daniel Yergin's book before they are let out in public.

This is a stupendous book. I could not detect any "right" or "left" political slant on the part of the author. Daniel Yergin is simply a master story teller, and indeed he has produced an epic here. Along with telling the story of oil, he also has told the history of modernity.

There are a lot of eye-openers in this vast book, such as an interesting chapter on George Bush (the father). Far from being a "Robber Baron" oil man as the left paints him, he was an adventurer and risk taker. When he graduated from Yale in 1948 he packed up his 1947 Studebaker and set off for Texas. He began at the bottom as a trainee painting pumping equipment, then became an itinerant salesman selling drill bits. He then started a small oil company in partnership with several energetic and ambitious young men and eventually became successful.

There is an enormous cast of characters in this epic; colorful, adventurous, up one minute and down the next, but always determined to keep working on, often in the face of the most adverse circumstances. This is the story of the real men and women who used their stamina and brains to build the basis for the energy (oil) upon which modernity itself depends.

And far from robbing the Third World of its resources, Western technology and know-how is what gave value to oil. If it had not been for Western ingenuity oil would still be just worthless gunk in the ground. Add to this the fact that by and large the Third World has been well remunerated for the product it found itself sitting upon. Corrupt Third World autocracies have confiscated these petrodollars for themselves. They are the ones who have robbed, and they have robbed from their own peoples.

The ignorant bellowing oafs who march and wave their "no blood for oil" signs should be required to read Daniel Yergin's book before they are let out in public.

This is a stupendous book. I could not detect any "right" or "left" political slant on the part of the author. Daniel Yergin is simply a master story teller, and indeed he has produced an epic here. Along with telling the story of oil, he also has told the history of modernity.

There are a lot of eye-openers in this vast book, such as an interesting chapter on George Bush (the father). Far from being a "Robber Baron" oil man as the left paints him, he was an adventurer and risk taker. When he graduated from Yale in 1948 he packed up his 1947 Studebaker and set off for Texas. He began at the bottom as a trainee painting pumping equipment, then became an itinerant salesman selling drill bits. He then started a small oil company in partnership with several energetic and ambitious young men and eventually became successful.

There is an enormous cast of characters in this epic; colorful, adventurous, up one minute and down the next, but by always ready to keep working on, often in the face of the most adverse circumstances. This the story of the real men and women who used their stamina and brains to build the basis for the energy (oil) upon which modernity itself depends.

And far from robbing the Third World of its resources, Western technology and know-how is what gave value to oil. If it had not been for Western ingenuity oil would still be just worthless gunk in the ground. This is what it was and still is to the Third World without Western genius and technology. Add to this the fact that by and large the Third World has been well remunerated for the product it found itself sitting upon. Corrupt Third World autocracies have confiscated these petrodollars for themselves. They are the ones who have robbed, and they have robbed from their own peoples.

The ignorant bellowing oafs who march and wave their "no blood for oil" signs should be required to read Daniel Yergin's book before they are let out in public.

This is really a stupendous book. I could not detect any "right" or "left" political influence by the author. Daniel Yergin is simply a master story teller, and indeed he has produced an epic here. And in telling the story of oil, he also has told the history of modernity.

There are a lot of eye-openers in this vast book, such as an interesting chapter on George Bush (the father). Far from being a "Robber Baron" oil man as the left paints him, he was an adventurer and risk taker. When he graduated from Yale in 1948 he packed up his 1947 Studebaker and set off for Texas. He began at the bottom as a trainee painting pumping equipment, then became an itinerant salesman selling drill bits. He then started a small oil company in partnership with several energetic and ambitious young men and eventually became successful.

There is an enormous cast of characters in this epic; colorful, adventurous, up one minute and down the next, but by God ready to keep working, often in the face of the most adverse circumstances. This the story of the real men and women who gave their blood, sweat and tears to build the basis for the energy upon which modernity itself depends.

And far from robbing the Third World of its resources, Western technology and know-how is what gave value to oil. If it had not been for Western ingenuity oil would still be just gunk in the ground. This is what it was and still is to the Third World without Western genius and technology. Add to this the fact that by and large the Third World has been well remunerated for the product it found itself sitting upon. Corrupt Third World autocracies have confiscated this remuneration for themselves. They are the ones who have robbed, and they have robbed from their own peoples.

The ignorant bellowing oafs who march and wave their "no blood for oil" signs should be required to read Daniel Yergin's book before they are let out in public.

This is really a stupendous book. I could not detect any "right" or "left" political influence by the author. Daniel Yergin is simply a master story teller, and indeed he has produced an epic here. And in telling the story of oil, he also has told the history of modernity.

There are a lot of eye-openers in this vast book, such as an interesting chapter on George Bush (the father). Far from being a "Robber Baron" oil man as the left paints him, he was an adventurer and risk taker. When he graduated from Yale in 1948 he packed up his 1947 Studebaker and set off for Texas. He began at the bottom as a trainee painting pumping equipment, then became an itinerant salesman selling drill bits. He then started a small oil company in partnership with several energetic and ambitious young men and eventually became successful.

There is an enormous cast of characters in this epic; colorful, adventurous, up one minute and down the next, but by God ready to keep working, often in the face of the most adverse circumstances. This the story of the real men and women who gave their blood, sweat and tears to build the basis for the energy upon which modernity itself depends.

And far from robbing the Third World of its resources, Western technology and know-how is what gave value to oil. If it had not been for Western genius oil would just be gunk in the ground. This is what it was and still would be to the Third World without Western genius. Add to this the fact that by and large the Third World has been well remunerated for the product it found itself sitting upon. Corrupt Third World autocracies have confiscated this remuneration for themselves. They are the ones who have robbed, and they have robbed from their own peoples.

This is a thoroughly engrossing, still-relevant treatment of the history of oil and its effect on history. Many of the events recounted are familiar from high school and college history courses, but in the typical linear-timeline of such studies, the interconnectedness of oil toward other major historical events is often lost. This book puts all that in perspective, neatly tieing other technological and political events across 150 years to the rise of oil and its use in the internal combustion engine. I strongly agree with an earlier comment on this book, "if you don't know the history of oil, you don't know history."

This book will help understand the current geopolitical landscape and the "great" democracies intervention in the middle east.

O. K.

Get ready.

Take a ...deeeeeeep ....breath.....

This book, written in 1991, is about to become relevant again!

Yergin's "hydrocarbon man" is alive and well and living in the 21st century. No book has ever captured the excitement, risk, and reward of the oil business like this volume does. Daniel Yergin documents oil patch history, from the simple beginnings as a native american medicine to todays complex international traffiking. Truely, hydrocarbon extraction from the subsurface is the stuff of modern life. Try to live without the carbon-hydrogen bond and you'll find out what life is like with an odd-even social-security-number lottery for the gas chamber. (Maybe I exaggerate a bit, but trust me... you don't want to look down this road.)

My advice:

Buy this book!

Buy it today!

Read it as soon as you receive it!

The next day may be too late!

(As I write this, gasoline prices rose today by about 8 cents because of the Alaskan pipeline.)

Also, thank your local geologist. And buy him a beer.

This book is biased on the side of the oil companies and USA, UK foreign policy while depicting leaders in the middle east as clowns. A thick book, but doesn't say much. Read William Engdahl's "A Century of War" for a more informative read.

The Prize is an epic on the history of exploration for oil and economic supremacy. Meticulous in detail, the book is very readable and a fascinating portrait of the countries, companies & individuals who helped shape oil and it's importance in a mechanized carbon based society.

The book starts in the sleepy oil towns of Pennsylvania, moves through the Rockefeller oligarchy, then Spindletop and Dad Joiner in Texas and the Texas Railroad commission, and finally the Mideast.

There is no question of the strategic importance of oil, first illustrated in World War I when the French used taxis to help depleted troops. Thereafter under Churchill's directive the English converted their wartime economy from coal to oil. Patton in World War II blitzed through Germany until he was slowed by a lack of oil - same for Rommel in Africa. There is no question the current interest in MidEast poltics is because it has the largest proven reserves of oil. Which country and companies will have complete economic hegemony over this great prize?

It's naïve not to recognize oil and the U.S. current involvement in the MidEast, military bases in Saudi Arabia and soon in Iraq to control the world's greatest prize

Great book, very readable, it won't teach how an internal combustion engine works, it will however take you through the politics of oil over since the late 19th century.

I agree with a reviewer below that found the book to be a bit hypocritical describing oil transnationals as seeking value and dealing with rapacious countries and the concessions involved. Aren't both parties greedy and self-interested? Soviet aggression in the MidEast versus the U.S. and England defending self-interests. I believe the MidEast countries and the former USSR would write a decidedly different modern history of oil. Regardless, it's still a fabulous book and one can make up their own mind after reading it

I can't overemphasize how good this book is. Published 15 years ago, it remains current. The oil industry continues to lay close to the center of the struggle for international power and survival in world affairs.

Yergin is equally good at explaining oil's colorful and distant past and the events of more modern memory - the oil shocks of the 1970s and the seizing of power by the oil producing states from the big oil companies.

He makes comprehensible the ebb and flow of market forces and politics that constantly reshape the industry. He lays out the many fascinating personalities who shaped the business, from John D. Rockefeller to the Buckleys and Mellons, to the trading geniuses who shaped the European, Russian and Indonesian ends of the business, to the many adventurers who risked everything to find or secure huge oil fields.

And he is invaluable at explaining the evolution of the oil situation in critical countries - Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. His explanation, for example, of the overthrow of the Mossadegh government in Iran in the early 1950s, and the restoration of the Shah to the throne, is not only illuminating but entirely at odds with the usual "imperialism at its worst!!" that socialist types like to hurl at it.

I would be fascinated to hear Yergin's take on the events of the current day - whether or not the Iraq war is actually a "war for oil", as critics can't resist saying; how the perception of global warming or the booming Chinese and Indian demand affects the industry; and whether we're actually running out of oil. As readers learn, this particular doomsday scenario has been regularly predicted for more than a century.

The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power, by Daniel Yergin. It is a fascinating history of the oil industry beginning with John D. Rockefeller, who sought Kerosene for illumination and medicinal purposes in the Oil Fields of Western Pennsylvania near the end of the Civil War. It reads like a thriller as it describes the perpetual oil shortage that plagued the industry and consumer from day one; explains how nations such as Japan and Germany were affected profoundly by oil, or lack thereof, during World War II; and U.S. & European prospecting in the Middle East.

Heavy as it may sound, it is an easy read with historical anecdotes throughout such as why Marcus Samuel named his oil company "Shell" and how Alfred Nobel instituted the Nobel Prize as a meaningful legacy after the media erroneously announced his death, published his obituary, and condemned him for creating dynamite.

As oil prices continue to rise and our president publicly announces that we must seek alternative energy sources, The Prize has been more than entertaining: it's been enlightening, educational and offered a manageable understanding of the industry and international relations.

This is a thoroughly readable text starting with the discovery of oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania and ending with the Iranian revolution. I ponder what insight Yergin would bring to a follow-up book but he is secure resting on his laurels. This book is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the power-struggles in the oil industry. As for shortages, Yergin suggests that there have been several. Once oil became scarce in Pennsylvania, which supplied kerosene for lamps throughout the world, new discoveries followed in turn-in Indonesia, in east Texas, Russia, Iraq, Iran, and the Arabian peninsula. It is small wonder that as the thirst for oil grew, we, in the modern world, became accustomed to new finds. Beyond the new discoveries, Yergin explains how Standard Oil of Indiana saved the day by developing, in the early 1900s, a new process for cracking oil to produce gasoline efficiently. Without this invention, the internal combustion engine would have stalled on the market-long before Henry Ford could dismiss his customer's complaint about the model T by saying, "They can have any color they want, as long as it's black." This is also a story about interesting characters. The descriptions of Rockefeller, Getty and the founders of Shell and British Petroleum were very entertaining. But, I am forgetting the undertone in Yergin's book. I enjoyed the tales of how the thirst for oil affected the strategies of the warring parties during World War II. And, how political intrigue between the great powers (England, the US, and others), and the indigenous people, who owned the oil, worked to shape our modern world.

Hey, if you found this helpful, please show your appreciation.

This is a thoroughly readable text starting with the discovery of oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania and ending with the Iranian revolution. I ponder what insight Yergin would bring to a follow-up book but he is secure resting on his laurels. This book is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the power-struggles in the oil industry. As for shortages, Yergin suggests that there have been several. Once oil became scarce in Pennsylvania, which supplied kerosene for lamps throughout the world, new discoveries followed in turn-in Indonesia, in east Texas, Russia, Iraq, Iran, and the Arabian peninsula. It is small wonder that as the thirst for oil grew, we, in the modern world, became accustomed to new finds. Beyond the new discoveries, Yergin explains how Standard Oil of Indiana saved the day by developing, in the early 1900s, a new process for cracking oil to produce gasoline efficiently. Without this invention, the internal combustion engine would have stalled on the market-long before Henry Ford could dismiss his customer's complaint about the model T by saying, "They can have any color they want, as long as it's black." This is also a story about interesting characters. The descriptions of Rockefeller, Getty and the founders of Shell and British Petroleum were very entertaining. But, I am forgetting the undertone in Yergin's book. I enjoyed the tales of how the thirst for oil affected the strategies of the warring parties during World War II. And, how political intrigue between the great powers (England, the US, and others), and the indigenous people, who owned the oil, worked to shape our modern world.

The prize was Khuristan. Khuristan provided 90% of Iran's oil. Oil has become another commodity. The myth that oil prices have no limit was quickly dispelled in the early 1980s. Oil does have a price ceiling. If the oil price rises too high the world market will abandoned it, never to return, as it invests in alternate energy infrastructure.

Prices in the futures market are influenced by how much the oil commodities cost in the spot market. Supply and demand are the important factors determining price. The first oil shock kicked as the Shah was deposed of power and Ayatollah Khomeini rise too power disrupted oil production.

The second oil shock, the Iraqi-Iran war was characterized by immobilized tankers unable to leave Iraqi ports; 8 mil/bar a day decreased to 1 mil/bar; panicked spot buying in Japan and Europe; US exceeding oil production of Non-Opec locals over OPEC importers; increased US dependence on Alaska, Mexico, and Canadian oil; development of the North Seas Oil production.

Carter lobbied congressional proposals for production of synthetic oil from shale and coal. Synthetic fuel costs $18 billion for 500,000 gallons and the cost and its survivability questionable. Iran withstood the first hard attacks by Iraq. Political instability was exploited by the Media and panic set in.

However, the world's total oil production was not significantly affected by either of the two shocks. Saudi began escalating its level of daily production and in coordination with other countries exceeded demand. The total amount of daily oil production was about 31 million barrels a day. This was too much supply for the demand. OPEC dropped daily production attempting to soften against a crash in price. OPEC decided price and supply and the oil companies brokered the oil out to world consumers. OPEC wanted a price of $18 a barrel. The price per barrel ranged from $10 to $35 a barrel, a huge increase from the $1.90 a barrel before the shocks. OPEC countries received sudden surge of financial available from banks. The buying spree seemed to have no bounds.

Saudi played the role of the swing producer increasing oil inventory supplies offsetting Iran oil production drops. Saudi became the Arab political leader and often competed head to head with Iran.

Additional shocks included the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, three-mile island nuclear disaster, and Nixon policy of price fixing. Availability of oil was still plentiful and cheap.

What caused the Oil price to rise? Oil traders searched the open market for oil purchases. Japan received 20% of its oil from Iran. BP received 40% of its contracts from Iran. The buyers bought oil now and sold it latter when it was expensive. Oil companies experienced record level profits. The public outrage direct charges at the big oil companies that they caused the shortage. Oil companies defended their position that huge price fluctuations in oil inventories were cyclic and profits were needed to offset drops in price. The oil reserve had billions of gallons of oil in inventory. The oil inventory served to cushion against sudden surges in demand caused from an especially cold winter. The oil companies bought the oil cheap and stored the oil in tankers and oil storage containers and remained fat on the oil. The game increased in danger as the price drove upward and warnings that increasing price could suddenly turn because supply was too large. Political and social instability increased the fear and buyers pushed up price.

Federal Monetary policies were rigidly tight, interest rates rose to 21 percent, and recession set in, unemployment rose sharply, and production dropped. As production drop so did the demand for oil. US car increased fuel efficiency 31 percent with cars achieving 27.5 mpg. Japan reached 51 percent fuel efficiency and consumption decreased. The price is a simple function of supply and demand. If supply exceeds demand than the price will drop. The price of oil dropped suddenly and hard.

The rich began adding oil commodities to their portfolios. Financial portfolio greedy for big profits increased institutional investing in oil commodities and oil stocks and argued that the investment made sense as a hedge against inflation. Oil profits drove up stock prices. The stock market increased in valuation as a direct result of oil company valuation increases. Gold prices rose as dollars were exchanged for Gold. Gold prices may have drove up oil prices. The drop in oil prices hammer oil profits and investors hung too long and kept their money in oil, for the long haul. New oil exploration and discovery could not displace the king of oil and the seven sisters pushed Saudi center stage exploiting the vast oil reserves of the Middle East. The crisis in the Middle East was bound to repeat history again in another round of huge profits for the oil companies.

I did not find this book very interesting or engaging. I found Anthony Sampson's book _The Seven Sisters_ to be a much more interesting history of the Oil Industry.

Oil has been an integral piece of history over the last 150 years. If you don't know the story of oil, you don't know history.

I read this book, translated to portuguese, here in Brazil.This book is good to read, but has some failures.At first, the history ends in 1990.In other words, this book is now a little outdated.I don't know if this ediction is now updated.
The second failures in this book is that it doesn't tells basically nothing about Brazil.I read it from the firts to the last word."Brazil" is writen only one time, as a scale to a trip to Saudi Arabia.
In fact Brazil had a part ridiculous, part fun , oil's history.Oil here was(and sometimes continuous to be) a demagogue's god.In 1980 decade, Brazil was producing more oil then Barain.Today in fact, Brazil produces more oil, then Lybia , Egipt,Argentina and Algeria.And this book tells nothing about oil in Brazil.
Today, Brazil is a net oil's export.In fact Brazil will produce about about 3,000,000 brents each day, in less than one decade.
Brazil will have decline about the same time or even after countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq,Iran,etc.Having so many oil in deep ocean, Brazil will grow his oil's production for many decades , in this century.It's possible that Brazil will be the biggest oil's producer in the world, about the half of this century.
Being outdated and failed about Brazil, I'll give 3 stars for this book.

I read this book, translated to portuguese, here in Brazil.This book is good to read, but has some failures.At first, the history ends in 1990.In other words, this book is now a little outdated.I don't know if this ediction is now updated.
The second failures in this book is that it doesn't tells basically nothing about Brazil.I read it from the firts to the last word."Brazil" is writen only one time, as a scale to a trip to Saudi Arabia.
In fact Brazil had a part ridiculous, part fun , oil's history.Oil here was(and sometimes continuous to be) a demagogue's god.In 1980 decade, Brazil was producing more oil then Barain.Today in fact, Brazil produces more oil, then Lybia , Egipt,Argentina and Algeria.And this book tells nothing about oil in Brazil.

Interesting history lessons, but time for an update. has a tendency to be long-winded.

I worked on a deal for one of the majors and wanted to get a feel for the industry. Besife Tonwe, one of our oil consultants, suggested it. I read it in 4 days, despite the fact that i was putting in 9 hour days. Fantastic read.