The Oil Road: Journeys from the Caspian Sea to the City of London

Author(s): James Marriott

Politics & Society

From Caspian drilling rigs and Caucasus mountain villages to Mediterranean fishing communities and European capitals, this is a journey through the heart of our oil-obsessed society. Blending travel writing and investigative journalism, it charts a history of violent confrontation between geopolitics, profit and humanity. From the revolutionary futurism of 1920s Baku to the unblinking capitalism of modern London, this book reveals the relentless drive to control fossil fuels. Harrowing, powerful and insightful, "The Oil Road" maps the true cost of oil.

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"An elegantly written travel book about a pipeline ... A distinctive blend of travelogue, reportage and history."--"Financial Times"

"Inspirational in the proper sense."--"Guardian"

"A lovingly crafted narrative, a rich tapestry of first-hand anecdote and historical reconstruction."--"Independent"

"Elegant ... verges on the psychogeographical ... The human stories behind the pipeline's construction."--"Literary Review"

"Opens the lid on the often-shady energy economy, weaving absorbing travel reportage into powerful investigative journalism."--"Time Out" Book of the Week

"Seamlessly weaves an engaging personal story into the current geopolitics of oil aggression and the volatile recent history of the region."--"Red Pepper"

"Part-travelogue, part-reportage, The Oil Road is a powerful ... account of how a valuable natural resource can ruin the lives of ordinary people ... This is no dry historiography."--"Sunday Business Post"

"Beautifully written as well as formidably well-informed ... A pleasure to read."--Neal Ascherson, "Black Sea"

""The Oil Road" is an inspiring act of political cartography. It makes chastisingly visible the means by which we blithely consume 'the geology of elsewhere.'"--Robert Macfarlane, "The Old Ways"



"Well researched and written with empathy, integrity and imagination. It is timely and much needed." Ahdaf Soueif, "The Map of Love"

"This book is so masterful, so authortatively researched and so elegantly written, that it suceeds in distilling a complex and changing 'Carbon Web' of engineering companies, legal firms, and financiers, into an intimate and engaging personal story."--Suzi Gablik, "Has Modernism Failed"

James Marriott is an artist, naturalist, activist and co-author of "The Next Gulf: London, Washington and the Oil Conflict in Nigeria."
Based in Cairo, Mika Minio-Paluello is a sailor, beekeeper and campaigner for social movements resisting oil companies. Both work for Platform, a London-based arts, human rights and environmental justice organisation (www.platformlondon.org).

General Fields

  • : 9781781681282
  • : Verso Books
  • : Verso Books
  • : 0.368
  • : August 2013
  • : 210mm X 140mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : September 2013
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : 380
  • : 338.2728209
  • : Paperback
  • : James Marriott