Potash: An Inside Account of Saskatchewan's Pink Gold

If you're interested in the politics of natural resources, this will be a good read for you. Most of the potash reserves in the world are controlled by Canada, Russia and Belarus and the industry resembles an oligopoly, so potash is very much a strategic resource considering its an important crop nutrient with no substitutes. This is a fascinating industry in that farmers need potash fertilizer, yet must import it from producing countries that have a lot of pricing power. It's a powerful commodity and there's tons of economic intrigue associated with the structure of the industry, but this isn't discussed in much detail by Burton (it wasn't the point of the book). Instead, it's about how countries can optimize the exploitation of their natural resources to improve the wealth of a nation's citizens. It discusses that topic well, although I believe the management of Potash Corp of Saskatchewan deserves more credit for creating wealth than Burton gives credit.I'm very glad Mr. Burton wrote this book because there's really nothing else on this industry available elsewhere. I don't agree with his politics but I enjoyed reading the book. I would have preferred more economic analysis, but the historical context of the industry the book provided is valuable b/c there's not a ton of info about the history of the industry out there.

Good read on this subject matter !