The Prize
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Daniel Yergin's sweeping account of oil's grip on the modern world is, quite simply, one of those books that changes how you see everything else. It's history on a grand scale. From the first crude well drilled in Pennsylvania to the smoke and politics of the Gulf Wars, Yergin traces the relentless human hunger for 'black gold' with the confidence of a scholar and the pace of a thriller writer. The narrative spans decades of economic turbulence, political brinkmanship, and outright conflict, all tied together by a single, slippery commodity. This updated edition includes a new epilogue addressing the current energy crisis, making the book feel as urgent now as it must have on first publication. Yergin's research is exhaustive without ever becoming dry, and his analysis of how oil has shaped national destinies, fuelled rivalries, and rattled the global economy gives readers a framework for understanding world affairs that few other single volumes can match. The canvas here is genuinely vast, yet it never feels unwieldy. Short, sharp observations punctuate the longer historical sweep, keeping you grounded even as the story ranges across continents and centuries. For anyone trying to make sense of geopolitics, energy policy, or simply why the world works the way it does, this remains an essential, richly rewarding read.
- Author: Daniel Yergin
- Publisher: Free Press
- Genre: Industry-Specific Business
- ISBN: 978-1439110126
- Pages: 928 pages