Oil!

Oil!

Summary

'A classic tale of greed and corruption' Erich Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation

Upton Sinclair's searing, prophetic indictment of fossil fuels, and the inspiration for the film There Will Be Blood

Based on the oil scandals of the Harding administration, Upton Sinclair's novel Oil! burst into the literary limelight amid soaring petroleum profits and gaping inequalities in 1927. Whether telling the story of the land, the ordinary civilian, or the heirs to oil fortune, Sinclair skilfully paints a vivid picture of the effects of corporate corruption, greed and how the so called 'American Century' was born.

By turns a gripping family saga and anti-capitalist warning, Oil! ranks among the most important critiques of fossil energy ever written. An exhilarating novel, which anticipated how fossil fuels would shape the dilemmas of our present, Oil! looks toward a greener, more inclusive, and altogether more livable world yet to come.

About the author

Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California. He wrote nearly 100 books including influential works such as The Jungle (1905), King Coal (1915) and Oil! (1927).
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