From her perch as one of Canada’s best-known muckraking journalists, Linda McQuaig has tackled her biggest topic to date: the future of the planet. The author of such well-received political critiques as Shooting the Hippo and The Cult of Impotence turns her sights to the nexus of war, oil, and hyperconsumption in a book whose title seems like an homage to Michael Moore, the irreverent director of Fahrenheit 9/11.

McQuaig is no satirist – the weakest moments of the book are those awkward spaces where she strains in the direction of sardonic, hip commentary – but she manages to massage the complex world of international politics and economics into a logical, accessible story. She provides an excellent overview of the history of oil: its discovery and production, its presence in almost every aspect of daily life in the industrialized world, and the collusion of corporations to control world petroleum prices. She also shows how oil has been a key factor driving U.S. foreign policy, both in the Middle East and, more recently, in Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez has run afoul of the White House due largely to his nationalistic approach to fossil fuel profits.

McQuaig hopes her work will contribute to a serious examination of our consumer lifestyle and to some sensible alternatives that, if not implemented, may leave the world in a state of chaos. Her well-documented thesis is backed with a variety of sources from across the political spectrum, including the Pentagon’s own bleak view of an oil-less future.

While the Bush administration has become a fairly easy target for self-righteous Canadians, It’s the Crude, Dude could have benefited from more focus on Canada’s substantial role in the oil industry and our own over-consumption of energy. And while McQuaig bemoans the lack of attention given to true energy alternatives, she provides no list of resources for those who would like to take up her call to action in the political – and personal – arena.