Black Gold

An unusual choice this month, but for anyone interested in the way that politics is shaped over the years by the immense influence of a major industry, this is fascinating. Even though I was reared on the culture of the South Wales coalfield and the tragedies that disfigured coal mining, the extent to which the industry powered the industrial revolution, and the British empire surprised me. Reading this 2022 account by a thoughtful journalist (his other books are good too) makes one reflect why it took so long to phase out such a polluting cause of climate change. But it also made me wonder if, at some point the overwhelming clout of today’s technology firms will not one day be shown similarly to have held Governments in thrall.