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Summary: The Colorful Consultants of Crude
Review: Most people wouldn't choose a book on the oil industry to curl up with when they want a good read. But most people haven't crossed paths with Michael Economides and Ron Oligney, authors of "The Color Of Oil".Subtitled "The History, the Money and the Politics of the World's Biggest Business," the book is divided into nine chapters, which are color-coded to symbolize primary themes. The lead chapter is "Green: The money, wealth and economics of oil." Another segment called "Black" deals with the physics of finding and producing oil. "Red, white and blue" outlines the history of the oil industry in the United States. A separate "Red" section chronicles the wars waged in pursuit of oil. And "Colors of the Rainbow" deals with the vastly different cultures of the world's oil producing nations. The book, written from personal experience is filled with stories and incidents the two have encountered in their careers. And like the authors, it provides a unique perspective that differs from conventional wisdom.
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Summary: Too Heavy-Handed
Review: Overall this is a decent book about the energy business, but could do with a little more fact and a lot less opinion. The attacks on the environmentalists and other critics of the oil industry are a distraction and add about zero value to ones overall understanding of the business.
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Summary: Good Public Relations exercise.
Review: Reading this book I couldn't suppress a suspicions that this book was written for PR purposes. The people who wrote it are, undoubtedly, very knowledgeable in their area - i.e. the oil industry, but still... Many pages are dedicated to how the US government had been trying to put a straitjacket on the oil industry. Another theme is inefficiency and greed of oil-producing countries. The only 'sacred cow' in the book is The Big oil, and unfortunately it is excluded form meaningful critical analysis. From my perspective, the book's goal is make you feel good about oil industry. It is a good book for that purpose. Unfortunately, although it presents some tidbits of really curios information, this book is essentially shallow. I would recommend it for a college student who wants to join oil industry, but isn't sure. This book would cement his or her decision. But if you seek a truly good book on the subject go for 'The Prize' by Daniel Yergin. I am reading it now and I believe it is more balanced and simply more interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Overview of the Industry
Review: The book provided a good overview of the industry for those not in the oil business. The analogy to colors provided a good reminder of each section. The authors did a good job in helping the reader to have an understanding of the industry within the context of history and economic conditions. A good read.....not too intimidating nor too technical. A quick read as well. Written so as not to lose the reader.
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Summary: The Color Of Oil by Michael Economides and Ronald Oligney
Review: The Color Of Oil -The History, the Money and the Politics of the World's Biggest Business is a refreshing look at the Energy Business. Michael Economides and Ronald Oligney's unique perspective draws upon history to describe very contemporary events and tells the fascinating story of an industry that is virtually invisible, yet billions of people depend upon it everyday. The Color Of Oil is an easy-read, a compact work (200 pages) that presents its arguments with clarity, without oversimplification. The narrative covers a range of topics including: the origins of the business in the USA and the giant ghost of Rockefeller; the wars that have been and will be fought over oil; the companies, cultures and colorful people of oil; the constructive and destructive roles of government; and what the future holds for the industry and consumers. The Color Of Oil is a 'must have' for everyone; from government leaders; to industry 'movers and shakers'; and members of the general public; investors and consumers.
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Summary: Simply a great read
Review: This book is both a great introduction into the petroleum industry for non-oilers as well as a goldmine of information for insiders. Rather complicated connections between economies, politics and technology are presented in an almost disarmingly simple manner and there is an abundance of mind-boggling facts inside. Every chapter shows an amazingly comprehensive knowledge that both authors have acquired over the past decades inside AND outside this industry and the book is a great read. It comes highly recommended.
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Summary: myth breaker
Review: This book won't change most liberals' views, but, having met the author, who's a bit of an iconoclast, and read the book, I have to admit that it presents a number of persuasive arguments that are pro-Big Oil. First, for a short, easy-to-read book, this is an excellent book on oil history, and, possibly, a new approach to modern economic history. Second, it explains, from a layman's economics and historical perspective, a number of valuable oil exploration issues well. Third, it is very persuasive at attacking liberal ideologies on oil.
I generally have liberal ideologies, but am trained in conservative economics. The primary weakness of this book is that the author makes little admission that the oil business may be wrong at times. An excellent introduction to oil history.
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Summary: Too much fluff
Review: We hear so much about turmoil in the Middle East from economic, political and religious perspectives that, as a chemical engineer, I sought out this book in hopes of gaining some additional 'behind-the-scenes' insight into the dynamics of the industry that most strongly affects, and is affected by, this unrest. This wasn't the book I was looking for. I won't say it's a bad book; it's non-technical easy reading, it just didn't suit my needs. For instance, there is no table of, say, the world's top ten exporting countries or of proven reserves by country, but yet there's an 11-page biography of the life of John D. Rockefeller (including a 2-page summary table with several portraits of him throughout his life). For some unexplained reason, there are 10 color plates of computer-generated artworkm, which adds absolutely nothing to the book. The authors understandably are optimistic about the future of the oil industry and justifiably critical of the environmentalist movement. They give a good description of why, for example, Saudi Arabia can't just 'open the spigots' and flood the markets with cheap oil, but we're forced to wade through so many pointless personal anecdotes that it makes it almost not worth reading the book to get to these useful parts. In short, I'd recommend this book only if you need to read something about the oil industry and have no other alternatives. Otherwise, go for _Hubbert's Peak_.
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Summary: A Great Page Turner!
Review: When a colleague suggested I read this book I was expecting a really bland read. Boy, was I surprised! This book is very well written and filled with lots of good and interesting information. A newer book that goes into great detail on oil economics, reserves, etc. and vulnerabilities post-9/11 is Terrorism & Oil by Neal Adams. It's a real eye-opener.
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Summary: The Color of Oil is for Me?
Review: When I was given this book I was reluctant to read it because I do not like history and the only interest I have in oil is how much money I pay to put gas in my SUV. In fact, it sat on my coffee table for weeks until I finally opened it up. To my surprise I found the book to be quite interesting (the illustrations are excellent)and one that I'll pass on to others.
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