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GUEST: Dilip Hiro, writes regularly for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Observer, Sunday Telegraph, Guardian, and The Nation. His 28 books include The Iranian Labyrinth, Secrets and Lies: Operation “Iraqi Freedom” and The Essential Middle East: A Comprehensive Guide.

Prolific writer and journalist Dilip Hiro has just released a new book, “Blood of the Earth: The Battle for the World’s Vanishing Oil Resources.” The book is a vivid history of oil, and the way it has revolutionized civilian life, war, and world politics. The switch from coal to oil before World War I heralded a huge change in global politics, comparable to the introduction of gunpowder in 1040. In fact, since then oil became the chief strategic weapon of war. Today petroleum is an indispensable part of modern life, used everywhere from fertilizers and gasoline to plastics, polyethylene, and pharmaceuticals. It is likely to be the impetus for many future wars. Dilip Hiro details how the history of oil has set the stage for the coming oil wars of the 21st Century. Most importantly, the book provides a crucial context for the current raging oil war, in Iraq.