A Swamp Full of Dollars: Pipelines and Paramilitaries at Nigeria's Oil Frontier

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Nigeria is a country where petroleum prices and polio are both booming, where small villages challenge giant oil companies, and scooter drivers run their own mini-state. The oil-rich Delta region at the heart of it all is, as Peel shows us, a troublespot as hot as the local pepper soup. Through a host of characters, from the prostitutes of Port Harcourt to the Area Boys of Lagos, from the militants in their swamp forest hideouts to the oil company executives in London, Peel tells the story of this extraordinary country, which grows ever more wild and lawless by the day as its crude oil pumps through our cities.

Reviews

'A fascinating insight into Africa's wild west.' - Giles Foden; ' - a compelling journey through the oil-filled chaos of present-day Nigeria.' - Louis Theroux; 'A compelling and well-written account. In this long awaited book, Peel has told the history of Nigeria and oil in a way that makes this important subject accessible to all. In doing so, he has done a service to everyone who is interested in development and in Africa' - Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate, Economics, 2001

Author Bio

Michael Peel is the legal correspondent for the Financial Times, having previously been its West Africa correspondent. He has contributed articles on Africa to the London Review of Books and Prospect magazine.