“An illuminating narrative of the true impact of the global dependence on oil…This book is essential reading for these times and for anyone interested in making the right decisions about our energy future.”—Robert Redford
A stunning and revealing examination of oil’s indelible impact on the countries that produce it and the people who possess it.
Every unhappy oil-producing nation is unhappy in its own way, but all are touched by the “resource curse”—the power of oil to exacerbate existing problems and create new ones. In Crude World, Peter Maass presents a vivid portrait of the troubled world oil has created. He takes us to Saudi Arabia, where officials deflect inquiries about the amount of petroleum remaining in the country’s largest reservoir; to Equatorial Guinea, where two tennis courts grace an oil-rich dictator’s estate but bandages and aspirin are a hospital’s only supplies; and to Venezuela, where Hugo Chávez’s campaign to redistribute oil wealth creates new economic and political crises.
Maass, a New York Times Magazine writer, also introduces us to Iraqi oilmen trying to rebuild their industry after the invasion of 2003, an American lawyer leading Ecuadorians in an unprecedented lawsuit against Chevron, a Russian oil billionaire imprisoned for his defiance of Vladimir Putin’s leadership, and Nigerian villagers whose livelihoods are destroyed by the discovery of oil. Rebels, royalty, middlemen, environmentalists, indigenous activists, CEOs—their stories, deftly and sensitively presented, tell the larger story of oil in our time.
Crude World is a startling and essential account of the consequences of our addiction to oil.
Peter Maass is a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine and has reported from the Middle East, Asia, South America and Africa. He has written as well for The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post and Slate. Maass is the author of Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War, which chronicled the Bosnian war and won prizes from the Overseas Press Club and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in New York City.
Meet Peter on his book tour
Peter are you reading this? Please let me bring to your attention Gwyneth Craven’s book, “Power to Save the World: The Truth About Nuclear Power”.
I highly recommend it.
Peter Maas,
It would be nice to have a copy of your book to help us learn what you have discovered in your search and writing. As you may already be aware, my country Uganda, is at the threshold of starting commercial exploitation of oil and gas in the Albertine Graben in the western part of the country bording the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
You may also be aware that already this development has led to several human casualities as a result of an armed conflict between the two countries. Also, a British Geologist working with one of the exploration companies was killed by an armed group from DRC while he was exploring some fields in the Lake Albert that traverses the two countries’ borders.
The oil & gas development is now shouded with a lot of secrecy among government officials, the companies and politicians that have an interest in the deals. The Production Sharing Agreement (PSAs) that have been signed between government and the oil companies have up to now not been disclosed citing confidentiality clauses in the agreements and the so called “fear of disclosing the contents of the contracts to other prospecting investors”. It is also argued that since commercial production of the oil has not yet started, it is too early to disclose such information. We feel that such excuses and conduct for non disclosure of information is recipe for corruption and misappropriation of the oil proceeds, which could easily usher in the widely talked about phenomenon of the “oil (resource) curse” in our country. Also, this culture of secrecy is increasingly breeding doubt among the populace about the who is actually going to benefit from the oil proceeds, revenue sharing arrangements and whether the processes will actually be transparent and accountable to the people. This too could be a stimuli of conflict among the people, especially the project-affected communities. We desire this culture to change to avoid the eminent troubles.
We are part of a Civil Society Organisation’s Coalition for Oil (CSCO) in Uganda that is advocating for transparency, accountability and sustainable development in the oil & gas industry for the benefit of the citizens and the country at large. We feel such information will be usefull in our endeavours. if it was possible, it would be nice for us to participate in such a launch. However, if we could get a copy of your book, this would be very usefull.
We look forward to sharing more information about our coalition and the work we are doing in Uganda in this regard in the future with you and RWI. I am currently the Chairperson of the Coalition that comprises now 17 NGOs working at different levels i.e. international, national, community,
Best regards,
Henry Bazira
Executive Director,
Water Governance Institute (WGI)