Oil Notes

This is a young man's book, written at a particular time (the late '80s) about a subject that, in our own time, is almost impossible not to see in a different way. Before Bass moved to remote Montana for a career as an environmental writer and activist, he worked as an oil geologist in Mississippi. A contradiction between environment and oil? Not entirely, when you look at the mysteries of the earth in the way Bass does here, curious about what you can learn about millions of years of geologic history and youthfully confident in wagering thousands of dollars of other people's' money to find out more. Bass may now see the earth in a different way, but the life-loving exuberance of these early notes will make you appreciate the appeal of roughneck prospecting. —Tom Old Book of the Week