ベネズエラ・ボリバル共和国は南アメリカ大陸でも自然の宝庫として知られています。OPECの創設メンバー国で、石油輸出量は世界のトップ10に入ります。伝統的に親米国でしたが、1998年にウゴ・チャベス（1954-2013年）が大統領に選出されて以来、反米を基調としています。
本書は「石油が政治、経済、文化、国際関係に及ぼす影響」という観点からベネズエラを俯瞰することを試みるもので、スペイン植民地時代の遺産に始まり、1910年代初頭の石油発見、19世紀半ばの石油産業の発展と国有化、そして1989年の抗議運動による政権交代を経て、「石油の時代」到来までの歴史を解き明かします。その名が国名にも冠されているシモン・ボリバルとは何者で、なぜ「ラテン・アメリカのジョージ・ワシントン」と呼ばれているのでしょうか。1992年のクーデターにはどのような背景があったのでしょうか。中国・ロシア・イランとはどのように関わっているのか、などの疑問に答えていきます。チャベス元大統領については、権力の掌握、国内政策、政治・経済政策、そして国際関係の構築について詳しく解説しています。今後世界の舞台でますます重要な役割を担うことが期待されるベネズエラについて解説する一冊です。
　　　

• A native of Venezuela, Miguel Tinker-Salas is one of America's foremost authorities on political and social issues confronting Latin America.
• Venezuela is among the top ten oil exporters in the world and a founding member of OPEC, and its president, Hugo Chavez, has been an outspoken critic of American policy.
• Concise but comprehensive coverage of an essential topic, in easily digestible Q&A format

 
Among the top ten oil exporters in the world and a founding member of OPEC, Venezuela currently supplies 11 percent of U.S. crude oil imports. But when the country elected the fiery populist politician Hugo Chavez in 1998, tensions rose with this key trading partner and relations have been strained ever since. 
    
In this concise, accessible introduction, Miguel Tinker-Salas—a native of Venezuela who has written extensively about the country—takes a broadly chronological approach to the history of Venezuela, but keeps oil and its effects on the country's politics, economy, culture, and international relations a central focus. After an introductory section that discusses the legacy of Spanish colonialism, Tinker-Salas explores the "The Era of the Gusher," a period which began with the discovery of oil in the early 1910s, encompassed the mid-century development and nationalization of the industry, and ended with a change of government in 1989 in response to widespread protests. Tinker-Salas also provides a detailed discussion of Hugo Chavez—his rise to power, his domestic, political and economic policies, and his high-profile forays into international relations. Arranged in helpful question-and-answer format that allows readers to search topics of particular interest, the book covers such questions as: Who is Simón Bolívar and why is he called the George Washington of Latin America? How did the discovery of oil change Venezuela's relationship to the U.S.? What forces were behind the coups of 1992? Does Chavez really want to be president for life? How does Venezuela interact with China, Russia, and Iran? And much more. 
      
Convenient, engaging, and written by a leading expert on the country, Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know offers a lively look at an increasingly important player on the world stage.