Oil!

Published in 1927, this masterpiece of realist fiction portrays a gripping tale of corruption and greed alongside a son's coming-of-age story. The basis for Paul Thomas Anderson's 2007 film There Will Be Blood, the saga follows the rise of an oil magnate through the eyes of his loving but increasingly pessimistic son. After writing The Jungle, a groundbreaking book that exposed harsh labor conditions, novelist Upton Sinclair was inspired by the 1920s Teapot Dome Scandal during Warren G. Harding's presidency. Sinclair delivers a scathing, satirical critique of social injustice during the early years of the California oil boom.