Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion The essential Standard Oil (Indiana) library

For the hardcore Standard Oil (Indiana) history buffs I offer the following three book reviews:

[b]"The First Fifty", [/b]F. Lawrence Babcock, 1939, 57 pages. An early history of SO. Lots of pictures, covers all aspects of the company from oil exploration, pipelines, refining and petroleum uses. Only about five pages directly discussing the automotive portions of the company but overall a good read/reference.

"Standard Oil Company (Indiana); Oil Pioneer of the Middle West". Paul H. Giddens, 1955, 741 pages. A huge mind bending thick book. Covers all aspects of the company from 1889 through 1951. Some pictures, but primarily a company contracted scholarly tome covering just about everything you could ever want to know about SO (Indiana). Lots of great info on development of the petroleum industry as a whole and the specifics for SO (Indiana). If you are strong enough physically and mentally to make it through this thing, you will know about everything you would ever want to about the company. Despite it's scholarly bent, if you are interested in the early days of petroleum it is actually not a hard read. I would highly recommend it.

[b]"Challenge and Response: A Modern History of Standard Oil Company (Indiana)". [/b]Emmett Dedmon, 1984, 324 pages. This book picks up the history of the company where the "Oil Pioneer of the Middle West" stops (1951 to 1984). Not surprisingly due to the time period covered, this book focuses much less on the companies automotive related ventures and more on it's expanding role in the chemical industry. Lots of pages devoted to company policies and management. Some interesting stuff, but not as enjoyable or educational as the "Pioneer" book. Worth the read if you are "hardcore".

All books out of print but not hard to find on Amazon or other used book outlets.

Lee