Oil 1st Edition

_Oil_ in the Polity Resource Series is an excellent introduction and overview of geographical and geopolitical oil issues. The book came out two years ago, but is still very up to date. This book covers some points that other books on oil don't. A key example of this is the observation that oil demand is rising rapidly in the Far East, but the bulk of oil supply is in the Middle East and most of the processing and refining capacity is in the West. This is a key point to remember in debates about the economics and politics of oil and, increasingly, natural gas. Other books and papers I have read on this subject do not bring up this point explicitly.The authors of this book are both resource geographers and bring the insights of their field to the subject. The book isn't particularly technical, but it is dense and slower reading than other books covering the same or similar material. This book is very well written for such a short yet comprehensive treatment.This book also covers China's approach to energy issues and efforts to govern oil on the global level unusually well.A book that goes very well with this one is _Myths of the Oil Boom: American National Security in a Global Energy Market_ because it covers the security effects of the US shale oil revolution in more detail than _Oil_ does. The authors of these two books share a similar outlook on the subject matter, also.

Standard book that came in good condition.

The book was very informative and interesting. I particularly enjoyed it because it was the electronic version. Money well-spent.

This book takes oil from every perspective—the political, social, economic, historical, and legal aspects of this defining substance.

Great book. Very well written for its subject matter

Interesting book to read

It's very goof

Oil... the word itself usually makes one think of energy. But, oil is far more than that to human civilization... it is the plastics that much of our consumer goods are made of, it is the fertilizer that grows crops such as corn, is the packaging that our products are sold in, the bags we carry our groceries home in, and it is bottles that most of water is now consumed from... just to name a few. The twentieth century weaved oil so deeply into the fabric of our lives, that we are not fully aware of its presence in everything. Now, in the twenty-first century, we are facing a future where we no longer see oil as abundant and never ending... we are no facing a new paradigm as altering as the paradigm shift that oil ushered in a hundred years ago.All understanding of a complex topic must originate from somewhere. Usually, one does not read one book and fully understand an issue; and, one does not start with a deep treatise on a topic when they need the foundational understanding first. That is where is this new series, the Polity Resources series, fits; where "Oil" finds its niche... To understand the complexity of an issue or topic, the best place to start is with a book that presents a world view of the issue and "Oil" does that well. It presents a foundational understanding of the history, politics, and personal connections the human species has to oil, whether we fully realize it or not.A Guide to my Book Rating System:1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

As described. As useful as what was expected and suited it's purpose.

Excellent overview of all the issues.

Book was kind of boring to be honest. Not as comprehensive as I expected.

Oil has long been a political hot potato. Anti-war activists believe that US interventions are largely motivated by the desire to secure oil supplies for itself. Environmentalists believe that it is largely responsible for climate change and pollution. Doom-mongers predict that mass starvation and economic collapse are just around the corner when oil runs out. US republicans close their eyes to the risks attending the uncontrolled expansion of the oil industry and press for exploitation of every new potential source of oil with little regard for the possible long term consequences. So getting a good, factual, overview of the oil industry is vital if decision making about oil is to be based on evidence rather than passionately held, but uninformed, beliefs - many of which are firmly rooted in the oil industry of the past. I am no expert, but this little book, which is very readable, seems to provide it. I suspect that many so-called experts could learn a lot from it, and I hope it will be widely read by politicians and those advising them."Oil" outlines the rise of the global oil industry: I found the third chapter "Marketing Oil" particularly interesting, for instance in describing how the very high US demand for oil (compared with Europe) is not a historical accident, but has been deliberately brought about. For example, from the 1930s on automobile and oil companies worked together to replace electrically powered streetcars and trams with buses and private cars. Later chapters describe the different strategies countries use to secure oil supplies and the various international organisations that seek to control and regulate it. I was surprised to learn how much the power of "big oil" (Exxon, Shell, BP etc) had declined, and how large nationally owned companies (NOCs) have become relative to them. This decline looks set to continue as NOCs now control most of the easily exploitable reserves and demand continues to shift to Asia. Another interesting chapter looks at how different countries have succeeded or failed to exploit the oil wealth, and how in many places such wealth has proved a curse rather than a blessing."Oil" emphasises that oil is necessarily a highly political commodity. The final chapter makes some suggestions for how the governance and use of oil could be better managed in future, but stresses that with around one trillion barrels of oil still remaining a future without oil - whether for good or ill - is not going to arrive any time soon.

The Polity Resources Series is truly excellent - a selection of in-depth primers on big topics that shape all of our lives. Oil is the second book I've read in the series - my first was the excellent  Food (PRS - Polity Resources series) . The reason the series is so good in my eyes is that each book recognises the major questions we face as we get into the 21st century: the move to a multipolar world; climate change; issues of social justice and equality; and the changing role of democracy and institutions.The series takes a broadly progressive stance, but crucially without straying into campaigning or partisanship - the research and logic of the books are impeccable, and are well, well worth reading either academically or for general interest.So why not five stars for Oil? For me, the book didn't quite face up to the challenge posed by oil in the 21st century. The authors promised (1) a detailed analysis of the resource, its extraction, distribution and use, and (2) a picture of how the industry and resource can and should change in coming years. They provided (1) impeccably, but seemed to shy away a little from (2).The impression I got was that the challenge posed by oil as a resource and industry in the 21st century is almost insurmountable, and the authors know that. As a result, their proposed solutions don't quite match the scale of the challenge we face - it felt like tweaking at the edges. I very much understand the desire not to push for entirely unrealistic solutions to the challenges oil faces, and yet by not doing this, the solutions they did push for are a little inadequate in my view.Nonetheless, as a primer for where we are with oil (if not so much where we want to go) you can't go far wrong with this. Food (PRS - Polity Resources series)