Opening in 2006 after ten years in the making British Petroleums $4 billion pipeline running from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean has become an icon of globalization. Over a thousand miles long it weaves a route around the Russian & Iranian borders transporting oil & gas to hungry Western markets. Bringing to bear a wealth of expertise on their subject the authors look at the reality behind the pipelines gleaming facade. Traveling along its route they trace the shadowy forces & institutions behind it meeting whistleblowers security forces local villagers & fishermen; in doing so they expose a story of cracked coatings new arms races & displaced local communities. They explore too the wider forces the pipeline represents from state repression investment banking & energy security to environmental degradation & social movements. A compelling travelogue The Oil Road explores the hidden history of an iconic project that is also a metaphor for our age.