Oil makes the world work. It has become so vital that even a small reduction in output can cause economic chaos. We know that our reliance on oil is potentially disastrous but what we are less clear about is the terrible damage it inflicts on the countries that produce it. The people who should benefit most from the riches of oil are, quite often, harmed by it. "Crude World" offers a passionate look at some of the most awful places in the world - the violent, repressive and polluted countries where oil is extracted. Peter Maass follows the journey of oil and shows how the substance sullies so much of what it touches, poisoning land and rivers, promoting political bloodshed and creating corruption on a staggering scale. We tend to gauge the price of oil by its cost at the petrol station or its role in global warming, but Maass vividly shows an altogether different price paid by people who live in countries that are rich in petroleum but not wealth or freedom. He shows how the profits of oil benefit mainly the companies and governments that receive royalty cheques and will do more or less anything to sustain the flow of money.From Nigerian fishermen to Moscow oligarchs, from American generals in Iraq to environmentalists in Ecuador, from British executives to Saudi jihadists, Peter Maass connects the dots and shows how our relationship to oil is so deadly. "Crude World" is a magnificent piece of reportage that reveals the price others pay for the lives we lead.

Peter Maass is an American journalist and author. He was born in 1960 in Los Angeles, California and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the New York Times Magazine. He has mainly covered international stories and has lived in Belgium, South Korea, and Hungary. He now lives in New York City. In 1996 he published his first book Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War. It told of his experiences covering the conflict in Bosnia.

In 1996, Maass wrote an article for U.S. News and World Report which advocated liberalizing zoning laws to promote affordable housing for lower-income families. In the article he praised Jack Kemp for proposing this idea which was later rejected by both the George H. W. Bush and the Bill Clinton administrations.