Comment

It's the Crude, Dude

War, Big Oil and the Fight for the Planet
Nov 26, 2013johnsankey rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Unfortunately this book reads like an American conspiracy blog. McQuaig writes in one page sound bites, and each one ends with the big bad oil companies being found guilty, either by direct statement, rhetorical question or sarcastic comment. After a dozen in a row, the technique gets tiresome. Being a committed NDPer doesn't help her balance either. And, she fails to put her comments in the context of corporate America. Most US companies in the late 1800's behaved like Rockefeller's Standard Oil; many companies besides Exxon can hold Congress in lockstep mode - Disney and Amex for examples. It's a shame, because most of her bites are supported by facts. Americans really should be paying $101 per gallon at the pump: $1 for the gas and $100 for the stealth fighter, instead of $1 for the gas and $2 to Exxon. And, her examples of what happened to those who tried to deny the US control over world oil supplies are a warning to any Canadian who might be disposed towards an independent Canadian policy on energy. Especially, given recent revelations that JFK actually sent experts here to defeat a Canadian prime minister he didn't like. McQuaig is worth reading, but you'll have to resist the urge to throw the book in the wastebasket as extremist while you're doing it.