This soft-cover edition is a welcomed reissue of Rundell's classic photo essay that was published originally in 1977. The colorful history of Texas' major oil discoveries is told through rare photographs gleaned from period newspapers, industry files, and federal, state, and university archives, and is accompanied by a text rich in historical vignettes. Photos of roughnecks, gushers, and derrick-choked boomtowns capture the era of wildcats, discoveries, and production records that preceded "Big Oil."