Robert Engler (July 12, 1922 – February 23, 2007) was an American professor emeritus of political science at the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

(and other colleges and universities) and a writer of numerous essays and books on the subject. He was most outspoken regarding the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

's dependence on oil, a subject on which he wrote two books, ''The Politics of Oil'' (1961) and ''The Brotherhood of Oil'' (1977). Engler also wrote numerous essays on an array of subjects for various journals and magazines. Engler was born in the Bronx, New York City, United States to Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe.March 6, 2007 ''Washington Post'' obituary of Robert Engler
/ref> In 1942 he graduated from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. He then served in the United States Army in World War IIand was among those involved in the liberation of Dachau. After World War II with funding from the GI bill he graduated with a Ph.D. in government from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. Initially Engler worked under James G. Patton at the

National Farmers Union (United States) National Farmers Union (officially Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union of America) is a national federation of state Farmers Union organizations in the United States. The organization was founded in 1902 in Point, Texas, and is headquart ...

and then he joined the faculty of

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

where he was for 18 years. Following which he joined the faculty of the

, where he worked at the

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

and the

Graduate Center The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public university, public research institution and post-graduate university, postgraduate university in New York City. Formed in 1961 as Divi ...

. Engler's ''The Politics of Oil'' was when published hailed as the first book to broadly look at the oil insterest from a standpoint of public interest in 24 years. Other reviewers criticized Engler's overall methods, and letting his desires drive him to call things "undemocratic" that in fact expressed the will of the only defined and vocal interests of the public that were easily discernible.

Bibliography

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References

1922 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American male writers City College of New York alumni United States Army personnel of World War II University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Sarah Lawrence College faculty CUNY Graduate Center faculty Brooklyn College faculty Queens College, City University of New York American political writers American male non-fiction writers {{US-political-writer-stub