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Energy: A Human History
by
Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author Richard Rhodes reveals the fascinating history behind energy transitions over time—wood to coal to oil to electricity and beyond.
People have lived and died, businesses have prospered and failed, and nations have risen to world power and declined, all over energy challenges. Ultimately, the history of these challenges t ...more
People have lived and died, businesses have prospered and failed, and nations have risen to world power and declined, all over energy challenges. Ultimately, the history of these challenges t ...more
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I couldn't put this down. A fantastic account of our transition from organic energy sources (horses, mules, oxes, ..) to fossil fuels to electricity. Taking detours at each level into lighting (which takes you into whaling, and the Canadian invention of kerocene), a deep account on the steam engine (and the insidious effects of patents), why we ended up with combustion engines when steam and electrical engines seemed just as likely at the time (it's hard to imagine that the technologies weren't
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A little bit of a dry read at times, but very informative. Rhodes devotes a chapter or two to each of the major sources of energy humans have used over the last several hundred years. Wood, steam, coal, hydrocarbons, nuclear fission, renewables; all are covered in detail. Rhodes also discusses the history of several environmental movements which is much more interesting than it sounds.Part III, which covers hydrocarbons, nuclear power, renewables, and our path forward is the most noteworthy for
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2 stars might be a little harsh, but this was a disappointing book. The early chapters rehashed stuff I already know, the nuclear energy chapter, well, rehashed old stuff too. The windup was a little better, and it's all well-written. But not much substance, if you know a bit about the topic. Better to read Daniel Yergin's great "The Prize."
WSJ featured review, which led me to read it:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/energy-r...
"Splendid .... A riveting account .... Humanity’s bottomless ingenuity i ...more
WSJ featured review, which led me to read it:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/energy-r...
"Splendid .... A riveting account .... Humanity’s bottomless ingenuity i ...more
Rhodes applies his talent for explaining science and technology to a popular audience to the modern history of energy--the deforestation of Europe and the coming of coal of increasing efficiency and quality, rushlight, steam engines, whale oil, kerosene and turpentine, oil, nuclear and wind. Along the way, there are vivid portraits of the people who made the technological leaps, often at high cost to themselves and their families, and the political and cultural oddities (the attempt to lure Nant
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Very informative, but too dry for my taste and my mind was wandering off. Still, plenty of interesting facts.
I read this book at the same time as Smil's Energy and Civilization. It proved to be a good compliment to Smil's book but left me feeling pretty disappointed at the same time. I wanted more from this book than it had to offer. Maybe I would have favored it more if I had not read at the same time as Smil's masterpiece.
This book started out more interesting than it ended. Rhodes asked thought provoking questions, such as how did humans figure out how to best harvest energy from nature. For exampl ...more
This book started out more interesting than it ended. Rhodes asked thought provoking questions, such as how did humans figure out how to best harvest energy from nature. For exampl ...more
A good overview of the changes in human energy use from the Elizabethan period through to the present. Rhodes surveys the rise and fall of muscle, water, steam and electricity, of wood, coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, wind and solar in turn. Each gets capsule histories of varying lengths, summarizing the circumstances of their rise and the major figures and events involved in the major inventions.
I enjoyed the first half of the book, focused on pre-20th Century energy, more than the second hal ...more
I enjoyed the first half of the book, focused on pre-20th Century energy, more than the second hal ...more
Dry overview of energy discovery and use through western history. Touches on wood, coal, oils, gasses, and newer sources without getting technical; names the principal inventors without going into much of their biography.
The early chapters do a good job of showing the various fuels burned to provide light, comparing costs and effectiveness. Over time, the market pressures changed due to various influences, and that story was pretty interesting.
Later in the book, that format is dropped for a much ...more
The early chapters do a good job of showing the various fuels burned to provide light, comparing costs and effectiveness. Over time, the market pressures changed due to various influences, and that story was pretty interesting.
Later in the book, that format is dropped for a much ...more
It’s hard to imagine a more light-weight read. From the same author who who wrote the awe-inspiring “Making of the Atomic Bomb”. If you want to understand the industry and ideas, stick with Daniel Yeargin.
Most of the book is nothing new. Only at the end does Rhodes provide some useful stats. Such as nuclear power has caused the least number of deaths of any energy production technology. And in 1996, half of Americans were alive only because of technological improvements.
But, there’s no energy i ...more
Most of the book is nothing new. Only at the end does Rhodes provide some useful stats. Such as nuclear power has caused the least number of deaths of any energy production technology. And in 1996, half of Americans were alive only because of technological improvements.
But, there’s no energy i ...more
The book was excellent, well researched and well explained. It may not be for everyone, but I loved it.
I want to note 1st that this book includes an extensive bibliography at the end of the Kindle edition. I also wanted to note that this author is a promoter of nuclear power which is in contrast to my personal anti-nuclear position.
I thought several times as I was listening to this audible book that it would be a delight for a person who wants to learn about inventors and engineers over the last several hundred years. I found it less interesting until it moved into the current time.
I thought several times as I was listening to this audible book that it would be a delight for a person who wants to learn about inventors and engineers over the last several hundred years. I found it less interesting until it moved into the current time.
Audiobook. I cannot say enough about this. It is completely outstanding. When I saw that it was by Richard Rhodes, I couldn’t wait to read it. This is a comprehensive, well thought out and researched book on the history of energy conversion across the last 400 years and its overwhelming and undeniable benefit to the quality of human life and longevity.
It is full of interesting anecdotes and asides that add enormous flavour to the stories. It is written in a manner that would be entertaining to ...more
It is full of interesting anecdotes and asides that add enormous flavour to the stories. It is written in a manner that would be entertaining to ...more
If you love books that cover epic transformations in history this is your next non fiction read about the evolution of energy from wood to nuclear - four centuries of change and all the implications - an in-depth good read.
I’m a total sucker for how current technology came to be and the steps it took to get here. This one falls right in that basket
A good history of the progression of the history of the development of energy sources and machines to use them. My only issues were: 1) that is was bit America/Western Europe-centric. I understand that this is where the invention took place, but it would have been interesting to know how quickly ideas / adoption spread to other parts of the world. 2) the discussion on wind / solar renewables was a bit brief.
So.....zzzzzz....booooooring......soooo....zzzz.....random...zzzz...
I'm surprised this is a book by a Pulitzer Prize winner - the writing is so uninteresting, the narrative so random. The "book" feels more like a compendium of essays poorly stitched together. The chapters make no coherent sense because one minute there author will be talking about oil drilling, then pipes, then steel-making, then war, then back to oil markets, pipes, women, all in the course of one "chapter".. Stick to a storyli ...more
I'm surprised this is a book by a Pulitzer Prize winner - the writing is so uninteresting, the narrative so random. The "book" feels more like a compendium of essays poorly stitched together. The chapters make no coherent sense because one minute there author will be talking about oil drilling, then pipes, then steel-making, then war, then back to oil markets, pipes, women, all in the course of one "chapter".. Stick to a storyli ...more
Review title: Energy to burn
Rhodes, best known for his histories of the atomic bomb, here turns his attention to the history of energy sources and how humans have developed and transitioned between them. Beginning with wood, Rhodes documents the development and transition to coal, steam, whale oil and other "burning fluids", electricity, oil, nuclear energy, and renewable sources.
While he outlines the technology behind the energy sources, he focuses on the social, commercial, and political respo ...more
Rhodes, best known for his histories of the atomic bomb, here turns his attention to the history of energy sources and how humans have developed and transitioned between them. Beginning with wood, Rhodes documents the development and transition to coal, steam, whale oil and other "burning fluids", electricity, oil, nuclear energy, and renewable sources.
While he outlines the technology behind the energy sources, he focuses on the social, commercial, and political respo ...more
Also reviewing Work: A Deep History, from the Stone Age to the Age of Robots
by James Suzman. It was a stroke of blind luck that I happened to come across & to read in close succession "Work" & "Energy". These are two of the best written, most informative, critically relevant, & pleasurable books of recent years, not only of this year but I'm inclined to think that these are among the 10 "must reads" of our new millennium! & they go together like hand & glove while simultaneously covering mostly ...more
by James Suzman. It was a stroke of blind luck that I happened to come across & to read in close succession "Work" & "Energy". These are two of the best written, most informative, critically relevant, & pleasurable books of recent years, not only of this year but I'm inclined to think that these are among the 10 "must reads" of our new millennium! & they go together like hand & glove while simultaneously covering mostly ...more
Energy is incredibly informative, although it didn't necessarily grab my attention as much as I had hoped. Still I learned an incredibly amount, but I was, perhaps naively, surprised by the end of the book. The final section quickly became almost exclusively devoted to nuclear energy apologetics. While I am not particularly committed to an anti-nuclear position like some of my fellow environmentalists, the book ended with a rhetorical flourish propping up the Promethean spirit of human innovat
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Great information in here related to many different concepts (with energy as the central theme). The history of cars, electricity, trains, steam power, whaling, and nuclear weapons are all covered. This is a worthwhile and informative journey.
This is a terrific book, my first read of Richard Rhodes, and I am going to carry-on. He starts with vacuum powered steam engines and closes with a surprising and credible pitch for nuclear power. He writes like a dream. For the science-curious, it is a great read.
An excellent account of the transition from from animal and human power to nuclear and renewable energy. It provides insight and analysis of why and how the transitions progressed as they did though I wish the text included a longer and more robust section on the relevant topics of today: renewable energy and energy storage. Some effort was put in this and the nuclear section is great, but it doesn’t quite go into depth on the most important transition for our civilization which is occurring now
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This was tough to get through. Like reading an extremely detailed summary. But will be cool to use as a reference book later on. 2/5 stars
A local in Titusville, PA (site of Drake’s first successful oil well in the U.S.) said back then (probably with Cletus’s accent), “We knew there was oil there, but that didn’t count for much with us because the oil didn’t seem good for much.” Sperm oil was used until the 1960’s to lubricate machine guns. He reminds us that it is amperage and not voltage that kills you; an electric fence packs 8,000 volts powered by a single 9-volt but the amperage is 0.1 amp. We were a country of horses before a
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* Wood to coal to oil to nuclear to natural gas to renewables
* How did humans confront how to draw energy from the world and then deal with consequences of how they did so
Part 1 No Wood, No Kingdom
* 1599 The Globe Theater was opened after being dismantled and moved by Shakespeare and his fellow theater owners taking the precious wood material away from the absentee landlord.
* Between charcoal, ship and building construction, England may have been running out of wood.
* Chimney sweeps got scrotum ...more
* How did humans confront how to draw energy from the world and then deal with consequences of how they did so
Part 1 No Wood, No Kingdom
* 1599 The Globe Theater was opened after being dismantled and moved by Shakespeare and his fellow theater owners taking the precious wood material away from the absentee landlord.
* Between charcoal, ship and building construction, England may have been running out of wood.
* Chimney sweeps got scrotum ...more
Tough publicized as a book narrating the history of energy, and the prospects on the future, the author drifts too often into unrelated events, at the same time as he fixates too much on a very limited geographical and temporal part of energy history.
Rhodes begins his book with the transition from wood to coal in England, to transition to energy history in the US. And altough he mentions here and there that certain technologues started to develop elsewhere, it's only a marginal note, and focuses ...more
Rhodes begins his book with the transition from wood to coal in England, to transition to energy history in the US. And altough he mentions here and there that certain technologues started to develop elsewhere, it's only a marginal note, and focuses ...more
Jul 05, 2018
Gabbi Levy
marked it as to-read
My interview with Richard Rhodes:
ENERGY IS ALL AROUND us. It lights homes, fuels cars, cooks food and connects people to their world, yet most spend little time thinking about where it comes from and how it gets to their lamps, televisions and cellphones.
But the world is at a turning point. Scientific consensus has concluded that humans – especially through a reliance on the fossil fuels used to produce energy – have contributed to the warming of the planet and that time is running out to avoid ...more
ENERGY IS ALL AROUND us. It lights homes, fuels cars, cooks food and connects people to their world, yet most spend little time thinking about where it comes from and how it gets to their lamps, televisions and cellphones.
But the world is at a turning point. Scientific consensus has concluded that humans – especially through a reliance on the fossil fuels used to produce energy – have contributed to the warming of the planet and that time is running out to avoid ...more
While I have to appreciate Rhodes’s thoroughness (5/5 stars there), it made the book difficult to trudge through in some sections (counterpoint: maybe not every book should be a walk in the park; I digress). Regardless, a great overview of our journey from wood & coal to nuclear & renewables and the discoveries & inventions that enabled or demanded new energy sources.
Reinforced my (borrowed) opinion that nuclear hasn’t gotten a fair shake and is likely our best bet at decarbonization.
Particular ...more
Reinforced my (borrowed) opinion that nuclear hasn’t gotten a fair shake and is likely our best bet at decarbonization.
Particular ...more
Great book, written in historical context. The author points out the discovery and development of different kinds of fuels and how important were they for the development of our civilization. Rhodes made a strong connection between science and practice, with real examples. I recommend the book to everyone who wants to understand the history of energy and its importance for today's economy.
...more
Innovation, greed, disaster. Repeat.
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Richard Lee Rhodes is an American journalist, historian, and author of both fiction and non-fiction (which he prefers to call "verity"), including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1986), and most recently, Arsenals of Folly: The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race (2007). He has been awarded grants from the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation a
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“The technology that made possible long-distance pipeline construction was electric arc welding.”
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“Wood use peaked in the United States at 70 percent in 1870. (It had peaked about a century earlier in Britain.2) Thirty years later, in 1900, coal commanded that 70 percent of US demand, and wood use was declining.”
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