Product Description

Packed with fascinating facts and insight, this book will fuel dinner party debate, and provide readers with the science and politics behind the world's most controversial resource. Without oil, there would be no globalisation, no plastic, little transport, and a global political landscape that few would recognise. It is the lifeblood of the modern world, and humanity's dependence upon it looks set to continue for decades to come. In this captivating book, the author of the acclaimed "Energy: A Beginner's Guide", Vaclav Smil, explains all matters related to the 'black stuff', from its discovery in the earth, right through to the political maelstrom that surrounds it today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50625 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
"Smil's knowledge is famously and fabulously encyclopedic." Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University and author of The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. "Terrific. Smil has done it again, producing a book from which we can all create new insights, this time explaining oil production, consumption and the broader impacts it has upon society." Chris Mottershead - Distinguished Advisor Energy and the Environment, BP plc, and Director of the Carbon Trust in London. "At last, an accurate and readable book which effectively presents the whole range of issues which are required for an understanding of the complex global oil system." Peter Odell, Professor Emeritus of International Energy Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and recipient of the 2006 OPEC Award.

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University and author of The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time
"Smil's knowledge is famously and fabulously encyclopedic."

Chris Mottershead, Distinguished Advisor Energy and the Environment, BP plc, and Director of the Carbon Trust in London
"Terrific. Smil has done it again, producing a book from which we can all create new insights, this time explaining oil production, consumption and the broader impacts it has upon society."

Customer Reviews

Well lubricated
I have just read "Oil" by Vaclav Smil and can recommend it. Very factual and very objective. My only criticism was one failure of objectivity (on p 81) when he refers to "pleasant surprise" of discovery of more giant fields than anticipated. To me a potential disaster. We are using oil maybe a million times faster than it was formed or could ever be renewed. Already we are on the brink of disaster, having no means of controlling the carbon dioxide entering the atmospahere. Our only hope is to give up our addiction to oil. I do not welcome discovery of new fields. Think again, Vaclav!