Oil: Anatomy of an Industry (Bazaar Book)

US: The New Press, 2004. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Matthew Yeomans begins his investigation into the role of oil in America by trying to spend a day without oil--only to stumble before exiting the bath room (petroleum products play a role in shampoo, shaving cream, deodorant, and contact lenses). When Oil was published in cloth last year, it was quic kly recognized as the wittiest and most accessible guide to the product tha t drives the U.S. economy and undergirds global conflict. The book sparked reviews and editorials across the country from the Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, and The Nation to Newsday , the San Francisco C hronicle, Wired and others. Author Michael Klare (Blood and Oil) called it "a clear, comprehensive overview of the U.S. oil industry . . . in one comp act and highly readable volume," and Boldtype praised Yeomans's "crisp jour nalistic voice. . . . Understanding the business of oil is essential in any modern dialog of power, politics, or the almighty buck, and Yeomans delive rs a well-researched and gripping read." Illustrated with maps and graphics--and now with an all-new afterword--Oil contains a brief history of gasoline, an analysis of the American consumer's love affair with the automobile, and a political anatomy of the global oil industry, including its troubled relationship with oil-rich but democracy-poor countries.