The Seven Sisters - The Great Oil Companies and the World They Made

The Seven Sisters (from a phrase first popularised by Italian oil tycoon Enrico Mattei): Exxon (Esso), Shell, BP, Gulf, Texaco, Mobil, Socal (Chevron) -- plus an eighth, the Compagnie Francaise Des Pétroles (CFP-Total).

This page give access to the online text of a book published in 1975. Unfortunately it's missing the first 7 chapters, and the last, but those that are available will give you a good glimps into how and why we became so "addicted to oil".