Gold, Energy, and the Future of the Global Monetary System with Luke Gromen

In this book, Matthew Simmons draws on over three decades of insider experience and more than 200 independently produced reports about Saudi petroleum resources and production operations. He uncovers a story about Saudi Arabia's troubled oil industry, political, and societal instability, which differs sharply from the globally accepted Saudi version. The book examines the history of major oil fields to determine that Saudi Arabia is overproducing its primary resources and argues for transparency and energy data reform to cope with the impending oil crisis.

The Prize chronicles the struggle for wealth and power that has surrounded oil for over a century. The book spans from the drilling of the first well in Pennsylvania through two great world wars, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm, and the Iraq War, to current climate change. It is a definitive work on the subject of oil, addressing its role in shaping major world events, global power dynamics, and the ongoing energy crisis. Yergin's narrative includes the rise of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the discovery of oil in various regions, and the geopolitical clashes over oil resources, making it crucial for understanding world politics and the global economy.