Daniel Yergin

The Prize

1. IDEA 1

   Oil became the modern prize

   Yergin tells the story of oil from the first wells in Pennsylvania in the 1850s to the late twentieth century. He argues that oil became the world's most important commodity, shaping economies, wars and the fortunes of nations.

2. IDEA 2

   Rockefeller built a giant monopoly

   Yergin describes how John D. Rockefeller built Standard Oil into a company that controlled most American oil refining. His methods brought order and efficiency to a chaotic industry, but also crushed competitors and provoked public anger.

3. IDEA 3

   Government broke up Standard Oil

   In 1911 the United States Supreme Court ordered Standard Oil to be broken into separate companies. Yergin shows how these successor firms grew into some of the largest oil companies in the world.

All 8 ideas from The Prize →