LUBBOCK, TX – Matthew Day, an independent historian from Lubbock, has released his 27th book, Lubbock, Levelland, Baghdad, Washington: OPEC, the Mallet Ranch, and the Changing World Order for Oil from Korea to NAFTA, 1950–1993.
OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is a coalition of major oil‑producing nations that coordinates petroleum policies and influences global oil prices.
“The genesis of this started more than 20 years ago,” Day said.
After buying a book about oil taxes, he became curious about West Texas ranching and oil. He moved back to Lubbock in 2018 and began expanding his research into book projects.
He said the first chapter came from a 1989 PBS telethon in Lubbock.
“One day I was gonna look at the files for Channel Five … I started looking at some of the old pledge programs … I found one from 1989 … That story ended up forming what eventually became the first chapter, the very first part of Lubbock, Levelland, Baghdad, Washington,” Day said.
Day wrote the book over three to four months while working a full‑time job.
“I’d come in from work and … start working on the book a little bit,” he said.
He decided to release the book earlier than planned.
“I didn’t plan on releasing it until later in the year. But I thought, you know, something’s going to happen this summer that I want to get … released as quickly as possible. So ended up releasing at the end of May. Lo and behold, look what happened next. A few weeks after that, Israel attacked Iran, and Middle Eastern oil … is back in the headlines again,” Day said.
Day described the book as more personal than his earlier work.
“I maintain full editorial control over content, and so everything that goes to the book, that goes back on me, and the success of failure of these books based on content, will rest with me,” he said.
He said many of his books are about 250 pages, but his recent titles, including this one, are “going to be longer ones. They’re gonna be more than 400 pages.”
Lubbock, Levelland, Baghdad, Washington is available on Amazon for $20.24. Copies can also be found at 2nd & Charles in Lubbock, where Day said the phone number is 806‑784‑1119, and Ye Ole Bookworm in Odessa. He said readers can “ask to speak to Dorthy Bennett."
“If you’re in San Angelo, it’s going to be exclusive through Amazon only for the time being,” Day said.
Day said he has already published 27 books and plans to write at least three more before the end of 2025.
“I had originally planned to get to 25 by the end of this year, but I ended up finishing the 25th book about two years ahead of schedule,” he said.
Copies of his 2024 book Refiner on the Rise are available at the Crockett County Museum in Ozona.
“If you've got any questions, you can call the museum at 325‑392‑2837,” he said.
Day said he started writing books to reach a broader audience.
“It was about trying to bring some information to the average person, and bring it to him or her at an affordable price,” he said.
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