Oil Wars
The Struggle for Control that has Shaped the Modern World
- Author: Guy Laron (Israel)
- Book type: war history
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- To be released: October 20, 2026
- Length: 528 pages
- Format: hardback / ebook
- Prize: $ 37.50
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Guy Laron Oil Wars reviews and information
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- “Full of insight and riveting historical detail, Oil Wars explains just how pervasively extracting oil and gas from Eurasia and transporting these commodities have shaped the world for 150 years. I learned a great deal.” (Helen Thompson, author)
- “Gripping . . . . Deftly weaves together global strategy, imperial adventures, and intelligence contests. A must-read.”—Lorenz M. Lüthi, author of The Iron Curtain“Laron’s lively and original account arrives just as oil geopolitics have returned with a vengeance.” (Nathan J. Citino, author)
Blurb of the book by Guy Laron about the wars over oil
A vital history of oil and politics, showing how the struggle to control energy corridors and chokepoints shaped the modern world.
For the last twenty years, Putin’s Russia has weaponised its vast resources of oil and gas, trying to use them to dominate Ukraine and, later, with growing audacity, challenge NATO itself. But this is far from the first time this tactic has been used. Over the last 150 years, access to oil and gas has repeatedly been used as a tool to gain an advantage.
Looking at the global picture—including Vietnam, India, and Egypt—Guy Laron charts the connection between oil, gas, and political power from the First World War through the Cold War to the crises of today. He shows how political actors leveraged their power through key chokepoints: production sites, pipelines, and even refineries. Whilst at the same time, companies lobbied states to block rivals and eliminate competition. This has been a high-stakes game over the controlling heights of the world economy that continues until this very day.
Guy Laron is a senior lecturer in international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of two books, Origins of the Suez Crisis and The Six-Day War. His op-eds have appeared in The Guardian, Le Monde Diplomatique, and American Prospect.