Daniel Yergin's "The Prize" relates the modern history of oil and its implication on global political and economic issues. Throughout this nearly 800-page effort, Yergin does a terrific job of presenting a detailed and comprehensive account that is informative and extremely entertaining. Yergin describes the creation of the major oil companies and how their relationship with the governments of the oil-producing nations evolved from a tenant/landlord relationship into full blown partnerships. Some of the things that I learned that surprised me were:

1. The number of key political figures from the 20th and 21st century whose political careers had ties to oil.
2. Synthetic fuels have been discussed and produced since World War I. However, the low cost of oil, relative to the creation and implementation of these synthetic fuels has made it cost-prohibitive to make it a true alternative to oil.
3. The role oil has played in nearly every military struggle since its discovery in the late 19th century.
4. How the low cost of oil over the last century is what has really has transformed the global economic state of affairs.

This book is written from an objective perspective that is non partisan in any shape or form. Yergin does such a great job presenting detailed information in such an entertaining and engaging manner that I rarely had to consult the index when key figures or corporations were re-introduced throughout the narrative. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking to learn more about the role oil has played within modern world history.

Just FANTASTIC. I can't put it down - the housework is suffering !! So, so, so interesting and informative.

Anybody that is in the energy biz needs to put this on their must read list. Oil drives the economy, politics and modern day life...this is the story of oil.

Especially for history buffs this is the best book around for the complete history of oil and oil companies and how it has shaped the modern world. The industrial revolution would have run out of steam if it weren't for oil (and the gas that comes with it). This is a very well written book. Its a long book, but necessary to be so complete and give such a thorough view of how oil has changed our lives and economy. Excellent book if you want to see how our world got to be like it is.

One of the most thought-provoking, engaging, and enjoyable reads I've ever had. A comprehensive tracing of petroleum's path from potential home lighting fuel to indispensable energy source and geopolitical instrument. Includes profiles of the colorful personalities that have shaped oil's history and their motivations. I found it very difficult to put down.

If you want to know how the oil industy began and how it works today, then read this book.

History's back story (and often its lead story) is well crafted and documented as Yergin takes the readers from the oilfields of Titusville up until the first Gulf War (in the version I read). It is very long but well worth the effort.

Incredible book could not put it down, so many facets in the giant puzzle that has made the world as it is today, it opened my eyes to the great geo political game and it's so relevant to what is happening presently / Present link between Oil-Economy-Military (the non oil energy crisis).

From an Avid war history reader and earlier Special Forces UDT EOD solder.

This book is an impressive work on how the petroleum industry was turned into the most important industry of the world.
A excellent job, well wrote and nice stories about our recent history.

All the schollars would must to read this book to understand the world, and what movies it.

"The Prize" deserved its Pulitzer Prize three times over. It gives insight into history, without which, you can not understand history since the discovery of oil. This book gives history substance and excitement. In between the lines you can see the many small changes in the history of oil, each typically the work of a single person, that totally changed the history of WWII and the world as we know it. For example,Yergin shows that the history of WWII was very much determined by the availability of oil over and over again. The destruction of the Japanese in the south Pacific because their ships could not use proper tactics or go full speed for lack of oil is one example. The story of the "Henderson", a little destroyer, that was able to cripple the Japanese fleet by making it go into a defensive action that caused it to use more oil than it could afford and at the same time wipe out a cruiser was awe inspiring. The story of how the Japanese air force was largely destroyed by poor quality and inadequate fuel for training and flying was shocking. The book was long but fantastically interesting. I could hardly put it down. This is a book to be read slowly and pondered to allow the awesome magnitude of what is being said to sink in.