Category Archives: Books

This websites spends a lot of time explaining why we cannot electrify the world with wind, solar and so on. That means going back to books, kicking and screaming, but ultimately the knowledge stored on the internet is going away. So start buying paperback books for your grandchildren to read, for fun, to preserve knowledge, put on theatrical plays and enrich their lives

Think covid-19 is bad? The tuberculosis pandemic is still killing millions

Posted on August 30, 2020 by

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 →

Posted in Health, Pandemic, Pandemics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Maddow’s “Blowout”, Russian peak oil, corruption, fake news

Posted on August 21, 2020 by

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 , , , , | 2 Comments

Nothing is true & everything Is possible: the surreal heart of the new Russia by Peter Pomerantsev

Posted on February 10, 2020 by

Preface. In light of how greatly Russia influenced the election of Trump, it’s worth reading this book to see how Russia has used propaganda to control their own people, keep Putin in office, and in general how the rule of … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption & Finance, Critical Thinking, Financial | Tagged , | 7 Comments

The shocking truth about life in Saudi Arabia: Oppression, conformity, & poverty

Posted on February 7, 2020 by

Preface. Saudi Arabia produces 1 in 4 barrels of oil. Their fate will affect all of us as energy declines. Yet most Saudis are poor despite the $400 billion in income from oil. They lack decent homes, health care, sanitation, … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The shocking truth about life in Saudi Arabia: Oppression, conformity, & poverty

Quartermaster Meigs was essential to winning the Civil War

Posted on July 8, 2019 by

Preface. This is a book review of Robert O’Harrow’s 2016 book “The Quartermaster.Montgomery C. Meigs. Lincolns general, master builder of the Union army”. I can’t believe I never heard of him, but he is as much responsible for the North … Continue reading →

Posted in Railroads, Ships and Barges, War Books | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Rare Earth: Why complex life is uncommon in the universe

Posted on June 2, 2019 by

Preface. So much research on why complex life is rare in the universe has come out since this book I’ve created another post: Rare Earth updates: recent research on why intelligent life is probably rare in the Universe. And intelligent … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Biodiversity, Evolution, Human Nature, Life Before Oil | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Book review of Mikhail’s “The beekeeper: rescuing the stolen women of Iraq”

Posted on May 24, 2019 by

Preface. This is a gruesome post you may want to skip. My main interest in this book was what will happen to the hundreds of millions forced to flee in the future because of the crash of civilization as oil … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse of Civilizations, Mass migrations, Middle East, Refugee Camps, Social Disorder, Terrorism | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Book review of Jaczko’s “Confessions of a rogue nuclear regulator”

Posted on May 21, 2019 by

Preface. After presenting a lot of evidence for why nuclear power plants are inherently unsafe, Jaczko concludes: “There is only one logical answer: we must stop generating nuclear waste, and that means we must stop using nuclear power. You would … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear Books, Nuclear Power Collapse, Nuclear Power Energy, Nuclear spent fuel fire | Tagged | 3 Comments

Book review: the stranger in the woods. The extraordinary story of the last true hermit

Posted on April 30, 2019 by

Preface.  On March 16, 2020 it was announced that the residents of most San Francisco Bay Area counties were expected to shelter in place for a few weeks to stop the Covid-19 pandemic.   Three weeks?  You can do it, Christopher … Continue reading →

Posted in (Auto)biography, Real Estate | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Book review of Wrigley’s “Energy and the English Industrial revolution”

Posted on April 12, 2019 by

Preface. I’ve made a strong case in my book “When trucks stop running” and this energyskeptic website that we will eventually return to wood and a 14th century lifestyle after fossil fuels are depleted. So if you’re curious about what … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Energy Books, Farming & Ranching, Life Before Oil, Limits To Growth | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments