“This is Not A Drill: Just Another Glorious Day in the Oilfield” by Paul Carter
In his first memoir, first published in 2006, Paul Carter said see you in 15 years. And that’s exactly what he did with this 2nd book. This time around he is more mature, more serious, and writing a memoir that shows his growth as he progressed up the corporate ladder in the oil industry.
Just kidding. This 2nd book was written merely 1-2 years after the first one, and in this one our “Pauli” is still the same legend that seems to attract chaos and drunken shenanigans wherever he goes.
This time around he travelled to exciting places once again, from Japan, to Bangladesh, to West Africa, and a lot more in between, including Scotland where he got so drunk at one time that he ended up tongue-kissing a border collie. In this sequel he also got stuck in the middle of the Russian sea on a rig staffed by colourful rig-mates with nicknames such as Sickboy, Vodka Bob, or my favourite The Cunt of Monte Cristo. He tells the story when he witnessed a pistol duel, almost died in a rig collapse, meeting a Hannibal Lecter type of character, and the most epic story: going out with his childhood friends that ended horribly wrong involving a poop in a purse and stealing a taxi.
Granted, this time around the book really does feel a tad bit more serious, where Pauli dived deeper into the politics of oil, especially during the time when he was on the ground in Afghanistan and seeing first-hand the devastating impacts from wars in the name of oil. He also dwell even deeper at the last chapter when he writes about his real view on the oil industry as the engine of global capitalism, which shows the rare perspective from an honest executioner of the drilling.
This second book also feels more mature and intimate, where he shares his story about reconnecting with his father (and had an epic night out with his dad’s friends at a gentlemen’s club), tells about his proposal to Claire, proceeded with the wedding, and the upcoming kid. Indeed, our boy is finally growing up, and while the ending of book 1 feels a bit sudden (and leaving me to want for more) this 2nd book nicely concludes his epic tale with an apropriate end.
THE CHAOS THEORY 