Eclipse by Richard North Patterson

I always like Patterson’s stuff; a little step up from the usual thriller.  This one takes place in the fictional county of Luandia (meant to be Nigeria) and gets into the politics of oil.  It takes many turns, has a love story at its core, and speaks to the devastation and evils that surround the harvesting of black gold.  The characters are great, those that are good and those that are despicable.  You get a great feel for the “pushes and pulls” around this complicated issue including the relative positions of the United States and China et al.  I would definitely recommed this for those that have some curiosity related to world events that are often not featured.  Going through his sources at the end, I was amazed at the depth and complexity of Patterson’s commitment to this project.  Fill ‘er up!