Category Archives: Books

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

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

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

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

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 Loss, Evolution, Human Nature, Life Before Oil | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

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

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”

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

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”

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

Book review of “The Soul of an Octopus”

Preface.  The octopus is an amazing creature, more than can be conveyed in the bits and pieces I’ve selected below.  The only downside to reading it is that you may not want to eat octopus anymore! 2018: A team of … Continue reading

Posted in Natural History | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Rare: The High-Stakes Race to Satisfy Our Need for the Scarcest Metals on Earth by Keith Veronese

Preface.  This is a book review of Keith Veronese’s book “The High-stakes race to satisfy our need for the scarcest metals on earth” (well, the kindle notes, so a bit disjointed). Capitalism believes there’s a solution for everything due to … Continue reading

Posted in Infrastructure Books, Mining, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Platinum Group Elements, Peak Precious Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Peak Resources | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment