As OPEC has loosened its grip over the past ten years; the oil market has been rocked by wild price swings; the likes of which haven't been seen for eight decades. Crafting an engrossing journey from the gushing Pennsylvania oil fields of the 1860s to today's fraught and fractious Middle East; Crude Volatility explains how past periods of stability and volatility in oil prices help us understand the new boom-bust era. Oil's notorious volatility has always been considered a scourge afflicting not only the oil industry but also the broader economy and geopolitical landscape; Robert McNally makes sense of how oil became so central to our world and why it is subject to such extreme price fluctuations.Tracing a history marked by conflict; intrigue; and extreme uncertainty; McNally shows how―even from the oil industry's first years―wild and harmful price volatility prompted industry leaders and officials to undertake extraordinary efforts to stabilize oil prices by controlling production. Herculean market interventions―first; by Rockefeller's Standard Oil; then; by U.S. state regulators in partnership with major international oil companies; and; finally; by OPEC―succeeded to varying degrees in taming the beast. McNally; a veteran oil market and policy expert; explains the consequences of the ebbing of OPEC's power; debunking myths and offering recommendations―including mistakes to avoid―as we confront the unwelcome return of boom and bust oil prices.
#3946010 in Books 2005-05-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.28 x 1.12 x 6.40l; 1.60 #File Name: 023113164X368 pages
Review
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Nagarjuna out of contextBy CustomerThree meaningful conversations with monk-scholars would have yielded a totally different book. To name a few flaws: 1/ the speculations about stupas have no bearing on the life of Nagarjuna; and they are speculations that have been corrected since.2/ The Mahasanghika vinaya; one of the late Hinayana vinayas; does not stand in apposition to other Vinayas; i.e. it cannot be postulated that this Vinaya proves a Mahayana-Hinayana conflict.3/ Only in dangerous environments such as the Westernmost Silk Road regions did several schools of thought co-habitate. Ordinarily a monk who decides to no longer follow the Dharma interpretation of his abbott leaves the monastery and starts his own lineage. As long as he does not revile his former teacher-abbott; and as long as his selection or expanding of Vinaya rules is not slanderous towards his former companions or the core of the Vinaya; this does not constitute a schism.4/ New Mahayana scripture (sutras and shastras) were not sneakily introduced in a monasteries' library; the now independently established new "Mahayana" monk had his own library.5/ Hence; postulating a "parasitic strategie of Mahayana"; p 254 and beyond; does not hold. As from the start groups of monks who wished to call themselves Mahayana were independently established; and independently approached "the king" in order to ensure his protection and support.13 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Excellent fresh scholarshipBy Two eyes and an earWalser provides a fine example of the much needed historical work so much Buddhist scholarship lacks: partly due to the ahistorical habits of classical Indian scholarship itself (as opposed to Chinese; for example) and the daunting problem of finding both a) a talented scholar willing to roll up his/her sleeves and do the hard work rather than rant about the theoretical aspects; and b) someone simultaneously genuinely interested in those same deeper theoretical problems of Buddhism.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Just A. ReaderIt's the best book on Buddhism that I've ever read.
