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. For a century, human dependence on petroleum caused little discomfort as we enjoyed the heyday of cheap crude-a glorious episode of energy gluttony that was destined to end. Today, we see the disastrous results in environmental degradation, political instability, and world economic disparity in the waning years of a petroleum-powered civilization-lessons rooted in the finite nature of oil. Considering the nature of oil itself as well as humans' remarkable relationship with it, Brian C. Black spotlights our modern conundrum and then explores the challenges of our future without oil. It is this essential context, he argues, that will prepare us for our energy transition. Bringing his global perspective and wide-ranging technical knowledge, Black has written an essential contribution to environmental history and the rapidly emerging field of energy history in this sweeping, forward-looking survey.

By Brian C. Black

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Introduction: Beginning as Black Goo

PART I: CULTURAL EXCHANGE, 17501890

Infrastructure: Drilling for Saltwater

1 From Black Goo to Black Gold

2 Crossing Borders to Increase Supply

3 Modeling Big Oil

Infrastructure: Shipping Crude throughout the Globe

PART II: GOING MOBILE, 18901960

Infrastructure: Pumping Gas

4 Hitting the Road

5 Marching for Petroleum: Supply and Weapons

Infrastructure: Want Fries with That?

PART III: THE GLOBALIZATION OF PETROLEUM DOMINANCE, 1960PRESENT

Infrastructure: Big Science Helps Big Oil

6 Consuming Cultures

7 To Have and Have Not

Infrastructure: NYMEX and the Commodity of Crude

PART IV: LIVING WITH LIMITS AND ENERGY TRANSITIONS, 1980PRESENT

Infrastructure: Climate Change Reveals a New World Order

8 Extreme Oil, Climate Change, and Geopolitics

Portrait of Addiction: U.S. Petroleum Use

Epilogue: Resource Curse: Time for an Oil Change?

Chronology of Petroleum in World History

Chronology of Spills

Notes

Bibliography

Index