<p>Reviews/Endorsements:</p><p>[Reviews for his last book, Crude Reality:</p><p>This engaging and thought-provoking book directs readers’ attention to the vital role that</p><p>petroleum occupies in today’s global economy and geopolitical arena. Brian C. Black has done</p><p>a masterful job of explaining a complex topic. . . . His conclusions are hard to ignore; the</p><p>global society depends on fossil fuels at a time when the world’s peak production of petroleum</p><p>has likely already occurred. . . . Essential.” —Choice</p><p> </p><p>“Stands out . . . for Black’s skillful incorporation of environmental and cultural history into</p><p>the more standard narratives focusing on the geopolitics of state and corporate development</p><p>of global oil resources. . . . Black also makes an important and highly original . . . contribution</p><p>by analyzing oil itself as a ‘critical actor, capable of shaping an entire way of life.’ . . . Regardless</p><p>of precisely how much oil may be left, though, Black’s insightful book demonstrates that other</p><p>‘crude realities’ like environmental damage and global warming will likely favor those nations</p><p>that move beyond oil and pioneer the cleaner alternative energy technologies of the future.”</p><p>—Journal of World History</p><p> </p><p>“Black . . . has made a most valuable contribution with this long history of oil from the</p><p>classical world until today. The work is informative and useful, with a quantity of details</p><p>rarely to be found in a single work. . . . The book is well written and always clear and easy to</p><p>understand. It [makes] for worthwhile, fruitful reading enriched by many good photos.”</p><p>—Global Environmental Politics</p><p> </p><p>“Not since Daniel Yergin’s book, The Prize, has there been a synthetic account that grapples so</p><p>thoroughly with the transformative effect of oil in world history. . . . Black . . . [provides] a . . . more</p><p>condensed and readable account with a bolder and clearer analytical framework that offers an</p><p>accessible entrée to the subject for non-experts of energy history and for scholars alike. . . . Black</p><p>crosses national borders and moves swiftly over 250 years of industry development to present</p><p>a story in which oil stars initially as ‘black goo’ but transforms over time with the aid of human</p><p>accomplices into a powerful actor that drastically alters the world’s climate.”</p><p>—Environmental History</p><p> </p>