Anderson, Paul Thomas
A down-and-out silver miner raising a son
self-made oilman Daniel Plainview has a voracious appetite for oil and it turns him into a California tycoon in the early years of the 20th century. Getting the oil from the ground is an intensely physical process that later broadens into Plainview's equally indomitable urge to control land and power. Along the way
Plainview deals with a mighty derrick fire
a visit from a long-lost brother
the ongoing involvement of Plainview's poker-faced adoptive son
and Plainview's rivalry with Eli Sunday
the local preacher.