Book Review: It's The Crude, Dude, Linda McQuaig

Linda McQuaig is a canadian journalist who currently is a columnist for the Toronto Star. I've always found her articles interesting and usually agreed with what she had to say, but not always how she said it. I think sometimes a little less attitude can carry a message farther, but that's just me.

In any case, as the title suggests, McQuaig's book "It's the Crude, Dude" is about oil. The book, naturally, begins with the invasion of Iraq and examines the reasons that were given for the invasion. She then goes into an explanation of the oil resources in the middle east and how profitable the Iraqi oil can be given the current levels of demand for oil.

She builds a strong case that the reasons for the invasion of Iraq was more about the control of a very valuable oil resource and how that resource can be used as a weapon to control not just the middle east, but other regions of the world. The book gives a detailed picture of history of the oil industry and correlates it with the political histories of the countries involved.

It gives a history of the oil business and its growth into its current massive state, includes the history of attempts at unity by the oil producing third world countries through OPEC and the Arab league, and illustrates how profitable the business can be for both parties. Along the way, though, McQuaig takes a detour and gives an account of the development of the SUV as subsidized and highly profitable product for the North American automakers in the face of the influx of Japanese cars that are more efficient on gas, more reliable, and of higher build quality.

While I liked the content of the book, I don't necessarily like McQuaig's writing style. Even the title itself seems a little juvenile for the topic. That shouldn't take away from the content though.

Here's a short list as to why I think people should read this book:

1. To get a better understanding of how the invasion of Iraq came about.


2. It has a good account of the history of the west "spreading democracy" in the middle east.


3. It offers a good explanation of why the west, and particulary the US, is so hated in the middle east.


4. It contains an insight into Hugo Chavez that you'll rarely see on mainstream news (the man is quite the character with some really good ideas).


5. It tells you exactly how you are getting ripped off if you buy an SUV.


6. You think you're getting ripped off at the gas pump, but not quite exactly sure how.


7. Reading a book is infintely better than watching tv.

Personally, I liked this book for several reasons. There's a lot of history that I didn't know, particularly about Venezuela's leadership in the formation of OPEC and as a catalyst for the oil producing countries obtaining better trade deals from the oil companies. I now have a deeper understanding of the economics of the invasion of Iraq as well as a new appreciation for what it would mean if we did find an alternate renewable energy delivery method capable of competing with oil. (Wind and Solar energy can currently compete with oil as energy sources. Storing and then delivering the energy for transportation is still a bit of an issue).

This book is definitely worth the read. You can find it here or here...or even better, step into a library and borrow it.

Here's a more detailed review of the book.