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Category Archives: Books
Where do we come from, who are we, and where are we going?
Preface. This is a book of review of The Social Conquest of Earth, in which E. O. Wilson answers these questions. Although tribes have invented thousands of creation myths since paleolithic times, Wilson finally has written a book explaining our … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Evolution, Natural History, Religion
Tagged evolution, religion, selection, superstition, Wilson
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Book Review: The Fall of the Roman Empire: A new history of Rome and the barbarians
Preface. Most historians see the fall of the Roman Empire as due to the invasion of barbarians from the North, partly pushed towards Italy by the brutal Huns. These lands had never been conquered by Roman armies because they were … Continue reading
Book review of “The Death of Expertise: the campaign against established knowledge and why it matters”
Preface. Those who attack experts are exactly the people who will not read this book review (well, mainly some Kindle notes) of Nichols “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters”. They scare me, they … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Political Books, Politics
Tagged critical thinking, death of expertise, fallacies, politics
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Why the British don’t like Trump
Someone on Quora asked “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of … Continue reading
Native American enslavement
Preface. This is a book review of “The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America” by Andrés Reséndez Slavery is an important postcarbon topic because given our past history, future wood-based civilizations will certainly return to slavery, … Continue reading
A book review of “Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America“ by David J. Silverman
Preface. This is a book review of “Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America“ by David J. Silverman 2016. I found this book hard to put down. It should be read because it tells the role guns played … Continue reading
Posted in Human Nature, Military, guns, Slavery, Social Disorder, Violence, War Books
Tagged guns, Indians, Native Americans, slavery, violence, war
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Book Review of “Against the Grain. A Deep History of the Earliest States”
Preface. Energyskeptic.com is ultimately about the rise and fall of civilizations, although I didn’t know that when I first started writing this as an energy and resource blog. Our civilization too will fail as fossil fuels decline, and then we’re … Continue reading
Will life after peak oil be like the middle ages?
Preface. Winston recreates what life was like from the 5th to the 15th centuries — from the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the Renaissance. Energyskeptic.com shows why hydrogen, wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear, fusion, and other alternatives … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biomass, Life Before Oil
Tagged biomass, life before oil, middle ages, wood world
8 Comments
Think covid-19 is bad? The tuberculosis pandemic is still killing millions
Preface. These are my kindle notes from “The Plague and I” by Betty MacDonald. Her great sense of humor, beautiful writing, and finding out what it would have been like to be in a Tuberculosis (TB) sanitarium in 1937 are … Continue reading
Maddow’s “Blowout”, Russian peak oil, corruption, fake news
Preface. Since this blog focuses on peak resources, I drastically rearranged my notes from this book in the order I found most interesting. I’m also interested in corruption, Putin, fake news, and more, as you’ll see below. Since the book … Continue reading
Posted in Corruption, Corruption & Finance, Oil shock collapse, Peak Oil
Tagged corruption, fake news, peak oil, Russia, Ukraine
2 Comments