Overview

Packed with fascinating facts and insight, this book will fuel dinner party debate, and provide readers with the science and politics behind the world’s most controversial resource. Without oil, there would be no globalisation, no plastic, little transport, and a global political landscape that few would recognise. It is the lifeblood of the modern world, and humanity’s dependence upon it looks set to continue for decades to come. In this captivating book, the author of the acclaimed Energy: A Beginner’s Guide, Vaclav Smil, explains all matters related to the ‘black stuff’, from its discovery in the earth, right through to the political maelstrom that surrounds it today.

Full Product Details

9781851685714

Table of Contents

Reviews

Everything most people - including most economists and investment advisors - should know about the physics and economics of oil. National Post In a fluent, easy style [Smil] delves into the world of oil from its discovery on the ground through to its effect on prices at the petrol pumps, and to its impact on future generations. The Good Book Guide a well-balanced, concise, and readable synthesis of oil-related facts and history. Technology and Culture

Smil's knowledge is famously and fabulously encyclopedic. Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University and author of The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Terrific. Smil has done it again, producing a book from which we can all create new insights, this time explaining oil production, consumption and the broader impacts it has upon society. Chris Mottershead - Distinguished Advisor Energy and the Environment, BP plc, and Director of the Carbon Trust in London. At last, an accurate and readable book which effectively presents the whole range of issues which are required for an understanding of the complex global oil system. Peter Odell, Professor Emeritus of International Energy Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and recipient of the 2006 OPEC Award.

In a fluent, easy style [Smil] delves into the world of oil from its discovery on the ground through to its effect on prices at the petrol pumps, and to its impact on future generations. The Good Book Guide Everything most people - including most economists and investment advisors - should know about the physics and economics of oil. National Post a well-balanced, concise, and readable synthesis of oil-related facts and history. Technology and Culture

Author Information

Author Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Manitoba, Canada. He has written over 10 books on energy and been a keynote speaker at both the World Economic Forum and the Global Roundtable on Climate Change. He is the first non-American to receive the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology and is a Special Fellow of the Royal Society.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available