I was introduced to this book by a friend,who's a petroleum engineer and I thank him for that.The Prize deals with history of the oil industry.As history is always marked with politics and economics,the books touches all these aspects and provides enough knowledge and seems to have no biased approach.I am a student of economics and enjoyed reading this goods.

A captivating history of Oil. Indeed a whistle stop tour of world history from the mid nineteenth century. Of interest to Indians, a ball by ball account of the history of the Gulf states. Story of Standard oil, Shell, Royal Dutch, ARAMCO, Anglo Persian - great monuments to the 20th century western prosperity. Also peppered with great characters like John D Rockfeller, Zaki Yamani, Marcus Samuels, Winston Churchill, King Abdul Aziz of Saud, Shah of Iran and many other pioneers on the fields a...

A fantastic account of the history of the world oil industry - and with it it the history of the modern economy, diplomacy and geopolitics. One can't begin to fathom the extensive research that the author has engaged in, to compose this epic of a book.
A must read for anyone remotely related to oil and energy business or anyone interested in understanding modern global politics and energy policy.

The book is worth its size.Imaging writing a story about reality for 100 years with continuity and spice keeping in mind all the characters and their quirks.Superb effort. But one thing that lingers in your mind is, the author has not taken any sides and no mention of the aftermath of brutal oil exploration in countries around the world. That is a major minus of the book. Rest no complaints.

This book is possibly Daniel Yergin's finest work that informs the masses about the economic origins of petroleum, its exploitation and exploration, and the politics surrounding it. Albeit rich in information, this book has some serious flaws as well.

On the positive side, Yergin starts-off outlining the origins of nascent oil 'industry' when a few entrepreneurs in the west saw its potential to become the leading source of energy, and ultimately, a dominant source political power. The first...