“James R. Norman says in The Oil Card that the price you pay at the pump is not determined by the free market.”—The Epoch Times

“The author [James R. Norman] has done an excellent job of researching an incredibly complex subject and committing it to paper…. He shows a real depth of knowledge and perception of not only the mechanics of the energy markets, but also the history and politics behind them.
He daylights the government’s strategy against Russia starting during the Reagan administration. … He documents and proves beyond doubt the point that the US government and its allies artificially kept oil prices low for years to starve the Soviets of income, an important tactic that was essential to winning the Cold War. The contrarian thesis of this book is that the government is now attempting to do the same to China by weakening China’s economy by keeping energy (and other commodity) prices high. Showing the background and illuminating the methods employed in the futures/derivatives markets and by controlling the physical oil market supply itself, the author makes a compelling argument that is entirely believable. He very accurately and completely portrays the genesis and the implementation of the energy price manipulation activities in the futures/OTC markets that many of us firmly believe is exactly what has occurred. For years many of my colleagues and former major players in the energy market have critically discussed the Wall Streeters and hedge funds involvement and tactics of bringing non-oil players into the energy markets. The net result is these players are driving market prices and ignoring traditional market fundamentals, artificially driving oil prices upward based upon self generated bogus risk factors and alleged technical analysis. This is definitely not a book for amateurs, however…. Because of the detailed information provided, it takes considerable energy market knowledge and experience to understand what he is saying, not an easy read, more like a text book and a great primer for market players. Certainly many will find the chapter on China itself interesting and informative. However if you want to read a fascinating story of how and why we got to $146/bbl crude oil, this is the book for you.—Richard Perkins