Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

  • Oil

  • An Audio Guide
  • By: Vaclav Smil
  • Narrated by: Robert Meldrum
  • Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (24 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Oil

By: Vaclav Smil
Narrated by: Robert Meldrum
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Packed with fascinating facts and insight, this book will fuel dinner party debate, and provide listeners with the science and politics behind the world’s most controversial resource.

Without oil, there would be no globalisation, no plastic, little transport, and a global political landscape that few would recognise. It is the lifeblood of the modern world, and humanity’s dependence upon it looks set to continue for decades to come.

In this captivating audiobook, Vaclav Smil explains all matters related to ‘black gold’, from its discovery in the earth, right through to the political maelstrom that surrounds it today.
©2008 Vaclav Smil (P)2012 Bolinda Publishing
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
Environment Political Science World
Show More Show Less
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Egypt, Greece and Rome cover art
When Money Dies cover art
Harrier cover art
The Dawn of Language cover art
The Warrior, the Strategist and You cover art
Too Big to Jail cover art
A Complete Guide to British Birds cover art
Fire and Movement cover art
The Path to Power cover art
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue cover art
Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics: Series 1-4 cover art
Children of the Night cover art
The Great Plant-Based Con cover art
The Jungle cover art

Editor reviews

Essential for anyone living in the modern world, Oil, plumbs the depths of our globalized societies' greatest commodity. In the beginning of the audiobook, Vaclav Smil warns that this book does go into mathematical and scientific detail, and is therefore best suited for those with at least some familiarity with those subjects. The audiobook is a well-researched, unbiased look at how oil affects virtually everyone on this planet. Smil goes into minute detail describing the processes of finding, extracting, refining, and selling oil.

Later, Smil ponders our future in regards to oil. Can we wean our dependence on oil as supplies diminish? What would that future look like? These and many other questions are addressed in this timely audio, narrated by staid and eloquent Robert Meldrum.

Critic reviews

"In a fluent, easy style [Smil] delves into the world of oil from its discovery on the ground through to its effect on prices at the petrol pumps, and to its impact on future generations." (The Good Book Guide)
"Everything most people — including most economists and investment advisors — should know about the physics and economics of oil." (National Post)
“Terrific. Smil has done it again, producing a book from which we can all create new insights, this time explaining oil production, consumption and the broader impacts it has upon society.” (Chris Mottershead - Distinguished Advisor Energy and the Environment, BP plc, and Director of the Carbon Trust in London)
“At last, an accurate and readable book which effectively presents the whole range of issues which are required for an understanding of the complex global oil system.” (Peter Odell - Professor Emeritus of International Energy Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and recipient of the 2006 OPEC Award.)

What listeners say about Oil

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.co.uk reviews

Amazon reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Paul c

Detailed and in-depth

Heard about this book from Bill Gates’s list of favourite authors. Very good book. Very in-depth and Informative.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Joe

Another masterpiece from Vaclav Smil

Nicely written overview of the Oil Industry with plenty of facts and figures, providing global market insights and a balanced view on one of men’s most important energy sources in history.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!