Total Page : 816
Publisher : Thorndike Press
Publication Date : 2009 01 27
>> Very Interesting Read
As a native Texan this book was an incredibly interesting read Furthermore as the book progresses it becomes obvious that the subject and influence of Texas oil extends FAR beyond the borders of the Lone Star State
The book is well written and a very easy read It does not dwell needlessly on the technical aspects of the oil industry but rather focuses on the culture and people that were/are a part of it Fans of movies such as Giant and Written on the Wind or TV shows such as Dallas will find out just how close to reality many of those stories are
On face value it is an entertaining read that gives you a glimpse into the excess of these extremely rich families On a deeper more fascinating level it reveals just how powerful this class of oilman was at certain points in the United States history As well as just how many different facets of our modern nation were affected by them
>> Good premise shoddy on the facts presentation and package
My mind must just have automatically filled in BURKburnett for BUCKburnett Tis true though per one of the one star reviewers that Burrough repeatedly botches this And he s got a number of other mistakes
That said don t let Texas braggadocio coming from a couple of those reviewers deter you from the central premise of this book and its general accuracy The first and often the second generation of Big Oilmen were crude about crude crude with the money from crude and more There s no need to say otherwise
That said Burrough does engage in caricature at times even though Big Oilmen lent themselves to this so readily
The biggest area in which he lacks nuance though is explaining how oilmen and LBJ had a slighly uneasy dance step from near the beginning and one that got more complex and convoluted with time
If you know nothing about Texas oil this is a decent starter But a book with a premise like this is waiting for a better author
>> Starts good
I asked my husband for a review of this book since he s the one who read it He said it starts good with lots of interesting information about the early days then it gets a little boring from there He did finish reading it
