Description
A journalist, and former roughneck, considers our long, complex, tortured relationship with oil.
Oil has dominated our lives for the last century. It has given us warmth, progress, and life-threatening pollution. It has been a gift and is now a threat. It has started wars, ended wars, and infiltrated governments—in some cases, effectively become the government. And now oil’s enduring mythology is facing a messy, complicated twilight.
In On Oil, Don Gillmor, who worked as a roughneck on oil rigs during the seventies oil boom in Alberta, looks at how the industry has changed over the decades and illustrates the ways our dependence on oil has led to regulatory capture, in Canada and elsewhere, and contributed to armed conflict and war across the world. Gillmor documents the myriad ways that oil companies have misdirected environmental action and misinformed the public about climate concerns and illuminates where we went wrong—and how we might yet change course.
Praise for On Oil
“Poetically, Gillmor tries to rationalize how we continue to dig up ancient solar energy, burn it as quickly as we can and not fully understand the consequences . . . Gillmor’s eloquence, humour and pointedness help unpack our species’ complex relationship with oil.”
—Matt Henderson, Winnipeg Free Press
“Well-researched . . . Gillmor’s tales take you from Calgary to Saudi Arabia, explaining some of the shelling and dealing done through the years to keep North America on the road . . . [and] warns us that should we keep worshipping at the Oil & Gas altar, our story won’t have a happy ending.”
—Dawn Mockler, Miramichi Reader
“Punchy and powerful, this is a knockout.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Praise for Breaking and Entering
“Surely the most interesting midlife crisis of the year.”
—Marion Winik, Oprah Daily
“[Gillmor] deftly converges doubt, infidelity and the fragility of family in a narrative that is both thrilling and relatable.”
—New York Times
“Hilarious and devastating.”
—Globe and Mail
“Powerfully drawn . . . Every aspect of the novel feels true.”
—Toronto Star
“Genius . . . A smart, funny, and sneakily terrifying version of the way we live now. (Do not read without working air conditioning.)”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
