Crude Reality - (Exploring World History) 2nd Edition by Brian C Black (Paperback)

About the Book

This concise, accessible introduction to the history of oil tells the story of how petroleum has shaped human life since it was first discovered oozing inconspicuously from the soil. Brian Black brings a global perspective and a wide-ranging technical knowledge clearly explain...

Book Synopsis

This concise, accessible introduction to the history of oil tells the story of how petroleum has shaped human life since it was first discovered oozing inconspicuously from the soil. Brian Black brings a global perspective and a wide-ranging technical knowledge clearly explained for general readers, providing a sweeping, forward-looking survey.

Review Quotes

Brian Black is one of America's leading historians of energy and the oil industry, and this updated book provides scholars and the general public a splendid guide to those subjects. It is concise, thoroughly researched, wide-ranging in focus, and as relevant to our times as history can be. And it's good reading all the way!

Crude Reality is a sweeping and accessible survey of how modern industrial societies became ever more dependent on petroleum. A valuable primer for readers wanting to learn more about our petroleum predicament.

Over the past 150 years, oil has become a ubiquitous part of modern life. Placing a strong emphasis on oil's environmental impact, Brian Black explores the many ways oil production and consumption have shaped world history. Wide-ranging and engagingly written, Crude Reality is an indispensable starting point for understanding how the world got to be the way it is today and the forces that are shaping its ongoing evolution.

About the Author

Brian C. Black, distinguished professor of history and environmental studies and division head of arts and humanities at Penn State Altoona, is the author or editor of several books, including the award-winning Petrolia: The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom and Gettysburg Contested: 150 Years of Preserving America's Cherished Landscape. His articles appear in the New York Times, the Conversation, USA Today, Junior Scholastic, and the Christian Science Monitor.