Petrolia: The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom (Creating the North American Landscape (Paperback))
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.64 (809 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0801877326 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-04-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Brian Black is an associate professor of history and environmental studies at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona College, and editor of Pennsylvania History.
(Peter Coates Technology and Culture)Petrolia is an intimate portrayal of the history of a major event that has affected not only this nation but the entire world as well This book provides an excellent example of geographic writing that reveals that all places have a quality of their own, and of the kind of literate writing that is needed in our profession today. Gorman Historical Geography) . (E. Willard Miller Professional Geographer)A clear, concise telling of Petrolia's fascinating story Black does an excellent job of examining the oil boom's impact on many aspects of the life and culture of the region. (Hugh S. A wonderful demonstration of the possibilities of historical studies of technology and culture Just as Black offers Petrolia as the prototypical landscape of industrial sacrif
D. E. W. Turner said Petrolia. It begins with the strike of oil by Edwin Drake on "Petrolia" according to D. E. W. Turner. It begins with the strike of oil by Edwin Drake on 27 August 1859. The world had been using whale oil for illumination but whales were getting harder to find and the Industrial Revolution called for something far more lubricating for the engines of manufacturing. Petroleum use had been developed in England but the source was difficult to obtain. Drake combined the technologies of water well drilling with salt rock excavation and, voila, created petroleum drilling. A new industry was thus born and boomed in the valley of Oil Creek in the western Pennsylvania county of Venango. Boomtowns were born and died within a span of 10. 7 August 1859. The world had been using whale oil for illumination but whales were getting harder to find and the Industrial Revolution called for something far more lubricating for the engines of manufacturing. Petroleum use had been developed in England but the source was difficult to obtain. Drake combined the technologies of water well drilling with salt rock excavation and, voila, created petroleum drilling. A new industry was thus born and boomed in the valley of Oil Creek in the western Pennsylvania county of Venango. Boomtowns were born and died within a span of 10. "Bravo Brian Black" according to A Customer. Never before have I read such an eloquent and informative journey through the oil boom of Pennsylvania. The photographic images that Dr. Black has chosen for his book are as captivating and clear as his text. An outstanding and brilliantly written book.. "Award-winner" according to A Customer. PETROLIA recently was awarded the Giddens Prize as the best new writing on oil history, 1996-2000.
Against the background of the growing demand for petroleum throughout and immediately following the Civil War, Black describes Oil Creek Valley's descent into environmental hell. In Petrolia, Brian Black offers a geographical and social history of a region that was not only the site of America's first oil boom but was also the world's largest oil producer between 1859 and 1873. But so unrestrained were these early efforts at oil drilling, Black writes, that "the landscape came to be viewed only as an instrument out of which one could extract crude." In a very short time, Petrolia was a ruined placeenvironmentally, economically, and to some extent even culturally. Black gives historical detail and analysis to account for this transformation.. Known as "Petrolia," the region charged the popular imagination with its nearly overnight transition from agriculture to industry