Description

Book Synopsis

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

Black gold. Liquid sunlight. Texas tea. Oil remains the ur-commodity of our global era, having been distilled from ancient algae and marine life to turn modernity's wheels. Wars are fought over it. Some communities are displaced by its extraction, so that others may reap its benefits. But despite its heated history, few will ever see oil on the ground. Shrouded within a labyrinth of oil fields, pipelines, and manufacturies, it tends to be known only through its magical effects: the thrill of the road, the euphoria of flight, and the metamorphic allure of everything from vinyl records to celluloid film and synthetic clothing.

Michael Tondre shows how hydrocarbon became today's pre-eminent power. How did oil come to structure selfhood and social relations? And to what extent is oil not only a commercial product but a cultural onesomething shaped by widely imagined

Oil

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    A Paperback by USA) Tondre Dr. Michael

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      Book details

      Publisher Bloomsbury
      Imprint Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
      Published 1/28/2024 12:11:00 AM
      ISBN-13 9781501386626
      978-1501386626
      ISBN-10 150138662X
      Also in:
      ELT & Literary Studies Literary theory

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

      Black gold. Liquid sunlight. Texas tea. Oil remains the ur-commodity of our global era, having been distilled from ancient algae and marine life to turn modernity's wheels. Wars are fought over it. Some communities are displaced by its extraction, so that others may reap its benefits. But despite its heated history, few will ever see oil on the ground. Shrouded within a labyrinth of oil fields, pipelines, and manufacturies, it tends to be known only through its magical effects: the thrill of the road, the euphoria of flight, and the metamorphic allure of everything from vinyl records to celluloid film and synthetic clothing.

      Michael Tondre shows how hydrocarbon became today's pre-eminent power. How did oil come to structure selfhood and social relations? And to what extent is oil not only a commercial product but a cultural onesomething shaped by widely imagined

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