Although Africa has long been known to be rich in oil, extracting it hadnt seemed worth the effort and risk until recently. But with the price of Middle Eastern crude oil skyrocketing and advancing technology making reserves easier to tap, the region has become the scene of a competition between major powers that recalls the nineteenth-century scramble for colonization there. But what does this giddy new oil boom meanfor America, for the world, for Africans themselves? John Ghazvinian traveled through twelve African countriesfrom Sudan to Congo to Angolatalking to warlords, industry executives, bandits, activists, priests, missionaries, oil-rig workers, scientists, and ordinary people whose lives have been transformednot necessarily for the betterby the riches beneath their feet. The result is a high-octane narrative that reveals the challenges, obstacles, reasons for despair, and reasons for hope emerging from the worlds newest energy hot spot.