Description
🏆 2020 BIBA® U.S. History Winner! –
As we prepare to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Mallet Ranch of Texas, perhaps no other topic in the world today elicits more controversy on both sides than oil. Certainly, as we look at the situation in Iran and Saudi Arabia (as of 2019), the question must be asked: How did we get to this point? In this book, I explore the dealings between oil companies and the Mallet Ranch of Texas. With limited exceptions, the book covers the 1940s. One might wonder: Why should the average person care about a ranch that lay to the southwest of Lubbock, roughly halfway between Fort Worth and Albuquerque? Then, as now, oil played a significant role in Mideast drilling rights. Then, as now, Texas drove American oil production. Then, as now, successful oil exploration–or lack thereof–benefited agriculture in ways that rains could not. In short: When the government tightened restrictions on wartime resource consumption (e.g., oil, paper), oil and agriculture did not operate as effectively.
Fueling Victory at Home, which won the 2020 BIBA-Nonfiction-US History category, is one of four books (along with Accidental Resurgence?; Local Roots, Global Prospects; How to Read Oil History If You’re an Average Joe) now available as hardcovers. I now have twelve books and am working on four more, with a goal to get my 25th book by Christmas 2025 (“25 by ’25”).
Author Matthew M. Day
