One of many books by veteran Middle Eastern journalist Dilip Hiro, "Blood of the Earth" depicts how the global quest for oil has shaped the human behavior, politics and warfare of today. His history of oil sets the stage for the wars that will be fought in this century because of this finite resource. Hiro describes how the switch from coal to oil just before WW1 changed the face of global politics. Oil has become the strategic goal of war because oil is so integrated into our daily lives from gas, fertilizers, plastics polyethylene and pharmaceuticals.