Although Africa has long been known to be rich in oil,
extracting it hadnt seemed worth the effort and risk until
recently. But with the price of Middle Eastern crude oil
skyrocketing and advancing technology making reserves easier to
tap, the region has become the scene of a competition between major
powers that recalls the nineteenth-century scramble for
colonization there. But what does this giddy new oil boom meanfor
America, for the world, for Africans themselves? John Ghazvinian
traveled through twelve African countriesfrom Sudan to Congo to
Angolatalking to warlords, industry executives, bandits, activists,
priests, missionaries, oil-rig workers, scientists, and ordinary
people whose lives have been transformednot necessarily for the
betterby the riches beneath their feet. The result is a high-octane
narrative that reveals the challenges, obstacles, reasons for
despair, and reasons for hope emerging from the worlds newest
energy hot spot.
