


Rockefeller, the churchgoing, charity-giving Sunday school-teaching symbol of 19th-century capitalism, who became the richest and possibly the best-hated man in the world by creating Standard Oil, a multi-national corporation long before the era of multi-nationals. He is joined by historians, biographers and people who knew or worked with the industry's creators, to produce an absorbing account of what is justifiably billed as "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power." Yergin, a continuing presence through the series. It is eight hours' worth of big deals and big dealers, high risks and low machinations, tough competition and imperialist adventures, technological achievements and social transformations, played out across the world.Ī lucid narration, delivered by Donald Sutherland, is enhanced by the observations of Mr.

The television version that occupies much of prime time on PBS this week is a gusher. Admirers of "The Prize," Daniel Yergin's rich history of oil, take note.
