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Known as "Petrolia," the region charged the popular imagination with its nearly overnight transition from agriculture to industry. But so unrestrained were these early efforts at oil drilling, Black writes, that "the landscape came to be viewed only as an instrument out of which one could extract crude." In a very short time, Petrolia was a ruined place - environmentally, economically, and to some extent even culturally.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. A study of the last 100 years of American history.

"This dual biography tells the story of how Ida Minerva Tarbell, an ambitious reporter, brought down John D. Rockefeller, the tycoon at the head of Standard Oil"--Adapted from back cover

"Contextualizes and analyzes the key energy transitions in U.S. history and the central importance of energy production and consumption on the American environment and in American culture and politics"--

OIL HISTORY is the definitive guide to the romance, history & lore of the global petroleum business. The oilfield's past was wild & woolly, a time of greed, guts, glory & goofups. A lot has been written about those colorful days of yesteryear, from the old ("Venango Oil Regions", 1866) to the new ("The Prize", 1991). OIL HISTORY reviews 810 titles of enormous variety. Look at just the long & the short of it: The encyclopedic ("A Brief History of the Pennsylvania Oil Region," 652 pages) to the terse ("We Drilled Spindletop," 37 pages). Author, publisher, length, date of publication are also provided. The extensive index will help readers find titles by either author or subject. No matter what your interest in the history of the worldwide petroleum business, it's represented in this unique volume. Published in hardcover, the 6-inch by 9-inch OILFIELD HISTORY is handsomely cloth-bound in royal blue with distinguished silver lettering. Order from IADC Publications, P.O. Box 4287, Houston, TX 77210-4287. 713-578-7171, ext. 214, FAX: 713-578-0589.