The Quest by Daniel Yergin

[kev67]

I have just finished The Quest by Daniel Yergin, which is about the oil and energy situation, how it got there and where it's likely to go next. I am not sure whether it counts as literature or not, but then I am not sure what does. Daniel Yergin previously wrote The Prize, probably the best book on the oil industry. The Quest is sometimes heavy-going, but is packed with information. It is not just about oil. It includes sections on other hydrocarbons, nuclear, renewable energy, climate change and future transport systems. In the acknowledgements Yergin lists many people who helped him research and write the book and states that the book took five years to write. I am not surprised. However this edition is pretty well up to date. For example, it mentions the Fukushima accident from last year. The best bits, in my opinion, are the little biographies of the brilliant doers and thinkers in science, engineering, business and politics. For example, Samuel Insull, who started off as a secretary to Thomas Eddison, went on to electrify much of the United States, was ruined by the Wall Street Crash, and died in poverty in Paris.