1
of
1
Oil, Power, and War
A Dark History
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 232 ratings, 35 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$7000
Unit price
/
Unavailable
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY
Found a better price? Request a price match
Oil, Power, and War
$7000
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
The story of oil is one of hubris, fortune, betrayal, and destruction. It is the story of a resource that has been undeniably central to the creation of our modern culture, and ever-present during the darkest exploits of empire the world over
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Oil, Power, and War by Matthieu Auzanneau is a gripping and meticulous exploration of the intricate relationship between oil and global history. Spanning over 150 years, this compelling narrative delves into how oil has shaped historical events, fuelled economic growth, spurred political decisions, and incited military conflicts. The story is one of hubris, fortune, betrayal, and destruction, tracing the rise of oil as an indispensable resource and its role in the creation of modern civilisation.
Award-winning journalist Matthieu Auzanneau provides a "people's history" of oil, skilfully weaving together the complex threads of economic, political, and social transformations driven by humanity's insatiable thirst for this precious resource. He challenges conventional wisdom and uncovers hidden motives and actions of key historical figures, shedding new light on familiar events. The book raises profound questions about pivotal moments in history, such as the causes behind the oil crises of the 1970s, the abandonment of the gold standard post-Bretton Woods, and the undercurrents of the 2008 financial crash.
Auzanneau's narrative provides a detailed analysis of how oil has been a silent yet dominant force behind various global conflicts and economic upheavals. From the wars in the Middle East and two World Wars to the Great Depression and the Cold War, oil has been a common thread, influencing power dynamics and geopolitical strategies. The book also examines the advent of neoliberalism and the long-term repercussions of the Great Recession, painting a sobering picture of a world heavily dependent on finite oil reserves.
With brutal clarity, Oil, Power, and War exposes the pervasive influence oil has had on our lives, our societies, and our world. It illustrates the increasingly desperate race to control the last of the world's easily and cheaply extractable reserves—a race with potentially catastrophic consequences. The book provides a critical understanding of why global leaders and the fossil-fuel industry make extraordinary and dangerous policy decisions on a world stage marked by shifting power bases.
Catholic Herald Book Awards 2019 Finalist, Current Affairs
"Auzanneau has created a towering telling of a dark and dangerous addiction." - Nature
For anyone seeking to understand the profound impact of oil on our past, present, and future, Oil, Power, and War is an essential read. It offers a powerful reminder of the urgency of reassessing our relationship with this volatile resource and the critical need for a different path forward.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Matthieu Auzanneau provides a comprehensive history of oil's profound influence on global economics, politics, and society. Praised for its detailed and well-documented narrative, the book explores how oil has shaped modern civilisation and highlights the challenges posed by future oil constraints. The storytelling is considered both educational and engaging, widely regarded as essential reading for understanding the pivotal role of oil in contemporary history.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781603589789
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Co
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 19 March 2020
Country: United States
Imprint: Chelsea Green Publishing Co
Illustration: 8-page color insert
Contributors:
- Foreword by Richard Heinberg
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 44.0mm
Width: 153.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 934g
Pages: 672
About the Author
Matthieu Auzanneau is the director of The Shift Project, a European think tank focusing on energy transition and the resources required to make the shift to an economy free from fossil fuel dependence, and also from greenhouse gas emissions. Previously he was a journalist, based in France, and mostly writing for Le Monde. He continues to write his Le Monde blog, Oil Man, which he describes as “a chronicle of the beginning of the end of petroleum.” The original French edition of this book, Or Noir: La grande histoire du pétrole, was awarded the Special Prize of the French Association of Energy Economists in 2016. Richard Heinberg is Senior Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute. He is the author of several influential books on resource depletion including Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century Of Declines.
More from Politics & Current Affairs
View all-
New ReleaseOne Last Question, Prime Minister
From Muldoon to Luxon, untold stories from the House of Parliament Barry Soper has spent close to five decades questioning New Zealand's prime ministers.From the imposing, larger-than-life characters of Rob Muldoon and David Lange, to the golden age of Helen Clark and John Key, and the post-Covid era of Jacinda Ardern and the 'Chrises', Soper's insight and nose for a...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseRegime Change
From the two reporters who have covered him more closely than perhaps anyone else over the past decade comes this definitive portrait of Donald Trump in the White House and the first year of his second presidency. Based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration’s most closely guarded rooms, Regime Change takes the reader into...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$4299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseA Different Kind of Power
#1 New Zealand bestseller #1 Amazon bestseller #2 Audible bestseller #3 New York Times bestseller #3 Sunday Times bestseller #4 Australian bestseller From the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world’s youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office, comes a deeply personal memoir chronicling her extraordinary rise and offering inspiration to...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Ockham WinnerA Different Kind of Power
What if we could redefine leadership? What if kindness came first? Jacinda Ardern grew up the daughter of a police officer in small-town New Zealand, but as the 40th Prime Minister of her country, she commanded global respect for her empathetic leadership that put people first. This is the remarkable story of how a Mormon girl plagued by self-doubt made...Hardback$4799Elsewhere:$5999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Signed Copy
Go Hard or Go Home
From the front bench to rock bottom: Go Hard or Go Home is Kiri Allan's fearless memoir of ambition, disruption and survival in NZ politics and beyond. Kiri Allan's six-year political career spanned some of the most challenging times in recent history. Events a government might encounter once in a generation stacked up: a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption, destructive and deadly...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableOut 4 Aug 2026Pre-order -
New ReleaseSuicidal Empathy
The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shameless, Brian Tyler Cohen explores how Republicans have abused power, how Democrats have refused to exercise power when they held it, and how progressives should wield power if they are fortunate enough to win a free and fair election in a post-Trump world. The Day After: How to Wield Power in...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Careless People
Shocking and darkly funny, Careless People gives you a front-row seat to the decisions that are shaping our world and the people who make them. Welcome to Facebook. Sarah Wynn-Williams, a young diplomat from New Zealand, pitched for her dream job. She saw Facebook's potential and knew it could change the world for the better. But, when she got there...Paperback$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Discipline
Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...Paperback$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Shattered Lands
'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' – PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation … both original and important' – MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...Paperback$3699Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Handmaid's Tale
The bestselling dystopian classic that became a cultural phenomenon and inspired an award-winning TV series. THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series. 'As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it.' Guardian I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no...Paperback$2000Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Keep Calm – We Are Coming
Keep Calm — We Are Coming briefly backgrounds the New Zealand Special Air Service deployment in Afghanistan — then goes into action. While primarily training Afghan forces, in Kabul the NZSAS had to respond to a series of ‘spectacular attacks’ by heavily armed Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests and determined to inflict major casualties. In the words of those who...Paperback$4000Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
