Over a Barrel

出版者:Thomas Nelson Inc

作者:Learsy, Raymond J.

页数:288

价格:$24.99

装帧:HRD

isbn号码:9781595550361

具体描述

The reason that many of the negative reviews of this book have been of the 'snide' variety reflects (I hope) not so much the fact that the Bush administration is implicated in Learsy's conspiracy theory but that the book ignores the facts surrounding the story. If there is a political slant, I would argue that it is the inevitable American xenophobia that often creeps into political discourse in times of trouble.

As other reviewers have noted, the facts of the global supply/demand environment do not match with what Learsy is selling. He uses no facts to prop up his arguments that OPEC is gouging the US because the facts point to the opposite:

Consensus estimates show that OPEC is producing at as close to full capacity as possible (98%-99%). There is likely a small amount of production that is shut-in in Saudi Arabia but it is high-sulphur, low gravity (heavy) oil that wouldn't suit US refineries even if it was shipped. These numbers are readily available from any major investment firm or publicly from the International Energy Agency.

Secondly, Learsy conveniently ignores the fact that oil producers are price takers. Because oil is a global commodity, it is the international market that sets prices and as anyone who has been following commodity markets over the past five years has seen, the growing economies of Asia have been hungry for as much product as they can get their hands on. It is these competing buyers going after a finite supply that have sent the prices to current levels. OPEC has not been able to set prices since 2001 when there was still a surplus of global supplies and OPEC had spare capacity.

Finally, OPEC members may be corrupt but they are not stupid. Extremely high oil prices are a potential liability for these countries. Investments in the high-cost Canadian tar sands; deep-water offshore and politically unstable countries are a product of high prices. This increases non-OPEC supply and diminishes any last control OPEC may have over markets or influence it might buy with the US government.

If you want to read a proper book analyzing the current oil situation, read Simmons book, which has a cogent theory backed-up with facts and numbers. This book is simply a materialization of classic American xenophobia looking for a convenient scapegoat to bash in a time of economic uncertainty.

The world is not running out of oil, the world is running out of cheap oil.

作者简介

Product Description

Longtime commodities trader Raymond J. Learsy lifts the veil of the Mideast oil cartel, showing how OPEC manipulates the oil markets and destabilizes the world's economy. With refreshing candor and an insider's perspective, Learsy explains how OPEC:

* twists bogus perceptions of oil scarcity to hike prices and gain political power

* is compromised by Islamist terrorist connections that fuel anti-American hatred with dollars from our own wallets

* keeps Third-World nations in abject poverty despite their rich oil deposits

* and became the de facto master of Iraq's newly liberated oil fields

A sharp, sweeping survey of OPEC's methods of economic dominance, this book explains how to bust the Mideast oil cartel and chart our own course toward energy independence.

用户评价

这本书的魅力，在于它构建了一个极其自洽的“微观宇宙”。这个宇宙里有着自己独特的物理法则和道德准则，一旦你被接纳进去，便会完全沉浸其中，难以自拔。作者在世界构建上的用心程度令人叹服，每一个地名、每一个家族的姓氏、甚至雨水落下的声音，都似乎经过了深思熟虑，服务于整体的氛围和主题。它不是那种关注普世价值的宏大叙事，而是聚焦于一个小圈子内部的权力斗争和情感纠葛，但这种聚焦反而让冲突更加尖锐，张力更强。我特别喜欢其中对于社会阶层之间微妙互动的描写，那些看似礼貌的寒暄背后，潜藏着刀光剑影的较量。作者的笔触冷静而客观，几乎不带任何道德评判地去呈现人物的丑陋与光辉，这使得故事更具力量，因为它仿佛在说：“这就是人性，无需粉饰。”此外，这本书的配乐感非常强，虽然是文字，但在阅读特定章节时，我仿佛能清晰地听到背景音乐的起伏，那种低沉的大提琴声和偶尔的急促的钢琴声，完美地烘托了情绪。这是一部需要“听”着去阅读的书，因为它在音韵和节奏上达到了极高的水准。它不一定适合所有人，但对于那些追求极致沉浸式阅读体验的读者来说，它无疑是一部值得反复咀嚼的佳作。

说实话，我一开始是被这本书的语言风格所吸引的。那是一种极其古典、甚至有些晦涩的美感，读起来就像是在阅读一卷用陈年墨水写就的羊皮卷。句子结构复杂多变，充满了倒装和精妙的比喻，初读时需要反复推敲，但一旦适应了这种节奏，便会沉醉其中，无法自拔。作者似乎对手头的素材进行了近乎偏执的打磨，每一个词语的选择都力求精准和富有张力，绝不使用任何多余的赘述。这种对文字纯粹性的追求，使得阅读过程变成了一种智力上的享受。它不像现代小说那样追求平易近人，反而带着一种知识分子特有的傲气和疏离感。故事本身可能有些支离破碎，或者说，它更侧重于捕捉“氛围”而非清晰的“情节线”。我感觉作者更感兴趣的是探讨某种宏大的哲学命题——关于记忆的不可靠性，或者权力结构对个体精神的腐蚀。某些段落的描述极其抽象，充满了象征意义，需要读者自行去填补空白，这无疑对阅读技巧提出了更高的要求。对于习惯了线性叙事和明确主题的读者来说，这本书可能显得有些“吃力”，但对于那些渴望在文学形式上寻求突破和挑战的人来说，这简直是一座宝库。它要求你慢下来，去感受那些被精心编排的音韵和节奏。

坦白讲，这本书的某些部分读起来实在是一种煎熬，但这种“煎熬”却是值得的。作者在结构上采用了非线性的叙事手法，时间线索被故意打乱、交叉甚至重复，这让读者必须像侦探一样，不断地将散落的碎片拼凑起来，以期获得一个完整的图景。这种碎片化的处理方式，起初让人感到困惑和恼火，但随着阅读的深入，我逐渐意识到，这正是作者想要营造的“历史的断裂感”或“记忆的重构过程”。例如，同一事件可能会在不同角色的视角下出现三次，每一次都提供了新的信息，却又似乎推翻了前一次的结论。这迫使读者必须保持高度的警觉和批判性思维，不能轻易相信任何一个“权威”的叙述。我尤其欣赏作者对复杂历史背景的植入方式。他没有采用教科书式的灌输，而是将历史的重压潜移默化地融入到日常生活的琐碎细节中，让人物的悲剧性显得更加真实和无可避免。这本书需要的不是快速翻阅，而是沉下心来，做好随时停下来做笔记、对照章节的准备。它更像是学术研究与文学创作的完美结合体，要求读者投入大量的认知资源，但回报也是丰厚的——一种对叙事结构和人性复杂性的深刻理解。

这本书，初看封面，就有一种扑面而来的历史厚重感，仿佛能透过油墨的纹理，触摸到那个逝去时代的尘埃。它不像那些快餐式的流行小说那样哗众取宠，而是像一部精雕细琢的老电影，需要你静下心来，仔细品味每一个光影的变幻。作者在叙事上展现了惊人的控制力，他没有急于将所有线索抛出，而是像一位经验丰富的织工，慢条斯理地将不同的经纬线交织在一起。故事的开端，那种略带压抑的氛围设定，让人不禁联想到二十世纪中期某个动荡不安的欧洲小镇。人物的刻画尤其精妙，那些看似微不足道的习惯动作，诸如抽烟时的手势，或是整理文件时的轻微颤抖，都精准地勾勒出了角色深层的焦虑与挣扎。我特别欣赏作者对环境细节的捕捉，无论是老旧咖啡馆里弥漫的烟草味，还是阴雨天里街道上反光的湿漉漉的石板路，都栩栩如生地跃然纸上，构建了一个极其真实可感的背景。这本书的节奏掌握得极好，时而缓慢如溪流潺潺，深入挖掘人物的内心世界，时而又陡然加速，在关键冲突点上爆发出强大的张力，让人屏息凝神。这绝不是一本可以囫囵吞枣的作品，它要求读者投入情感和智力，去解码那些潜藏在字里行间的深意。读完之后，那种意犹未尽的感觉，更像是与一位老朋友进行了一场深刻的交谈，回味无穷。

这本书给我最大的震撼在于其对“疏离感”的描绘。它成功地构建了一个心理上的迷宫，让我时刻处于一种不安和不确定的状态中。主角的行动逻辑往往难以捉摸，他的动机似乎总是隐藏在重重迷雾之下，你以为你接近了真相，下一秒却发现自己又被带入了另一个更深的误区。这种叙事上的不确定性，并非是作者技艺不精所致，反而是其高明之处。它巧妙地模仿了现实生活中人与人之间，以及人与自身内心世界之间的隔阂感。书中的对话也极其克制，很多重要的信息都是通过角色的沉默、眼神的交流，或者那些未曾说出口的话语中传递出来的。这种“留白”的艺术运用得炉火纯青。我印象最深的是其中一段关于时间流逝的描写，作者并没有使用常见的时间线索，而是通过一个反复出现的物件——比如一个生锈的怀表——来锚定读者的感官，使时间感变得扭曲而主观。读完之后，我花了很长时间才从那种强烈的代入感中抽离出来，仿佛自己也曾是那个充满怀疑和秘密的城市里的一个旁观者。它更像是一部心理惊悚片，只不过它的“惊悚”之处不在于突发的暴力，而在于对人类精神脆弱性的细腻解剖。