Book Review: Twilight in the Desert

If you haven't already read this book, you should consider doing so. I'm not going to write a full review, as there are already several good ones out there (see the links below). But if you've been following my commentary on Petrobras, and the economy in general, you'll know that I think having a basic understanding of the fundamentals of how oil is discovered, produced, refined and distributed is key to understanding the global and local economy. This book will educate you well on the first two points, and give tremendous insight into Saudi Arabia as well.

The main drawbacks of the book are also its greatest strengths: it's thoroughly researched and very technically detailed. Non-geologists (like me) may find it dry at times, but it's still good knowledge to have. The author offers very convincing proof that Saudi oil reserve figures are overstated, and shows that many other OPEC countries have the incentive to do so as well.

You can buy the book from Amazon, now in paperback. And here are two excellent (more detailed and lengthy) reviews: