Try free for 30 days

  • Oil: Bolinda Beginner Guides

  • By: Vaclav Smil
  • Narrated by: Robert Meldrum
  • Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (4 ratings)

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Oil: Bolinda Beginner Guides cover art

Oil: Bolinda Beginner Guides

By: Vaclav Smil
Narrated by: Robert Meldrum
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $22.99

Buy Now for $22.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Editorial reviews

Essential for anyone living in the modern world, Oil, plumbs the depths of our globalized societies' greatest commodity. In the beginning of the audiobook, Vaclav Smil warns that this book does go into mathematical and scientific detail, and is therefore best suited for those with at least some familiarity with those subjects. The audiobook is a well-researched, unbiased look at how oil affects virtually everyone on this planet. Smil goes into minute detail describing the processes of finding, extracting, refining, and selling oil.

Later, Smil ponders our future in regards to oil. Can we wean our dependence on oil as supplies diminish? What would that future look like? These and many other questions are addressed in this timely audio, narrated by staid and eloquent Robert Meldrum.

Publisher's Summary

Packed with fascinating facts and insight, this book will fuel dinner party debate and provide listeners with the science and politics behind the world’s most controversial resource. Without oil, there would be no globalisation, no plastic, little transport, and a global political landscape that few would recognise. It is the lifeblood of the modern world, and humanity’s dependence upon it looks set to continue for decades to come. In this captivating audiobook, Vaclav Smil explains all matters related to "black gold", from its discovery in the earth, right through to the political maelstrom that surrounds it today.

©2008 Vaclav Smil © 2008. (P)2012 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic Reviews

"In a fluent, easy style [Smil] delves into the world of oil from its discovery on the ground through to its effect on prices at the petrol pumps, and to its impact on future generations." ( The Good Book Guide)
"Everything most people - including most economists and investment advisors - should know about the physics and economics of oil." ( National Post)
“Terrific. Smil has done it again, producing a book from which we can all create new insights, this time explaining oil production, consumption and the broader impacts it has upon society.” (Chris Mottershead - Distinguished Advisor Energy and the Environment, BP plc, and Director of the Carbon Trust in London)

More from the same

What listeners say about Oil: Bolinda Beginner Guides

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.