Category Archives: Books

Review of “The Bet: Paul Erlich, Julian Simon, and our Gamble over Earth’s Future”

Alice Friedemann book review of “The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon, and Our Gamble over Earth’s Future” by Paul Sabin Kind of scary that Bill Gates recommends this book. But then again, to get really good at something, you don’t … Continue reading

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Stuck in a Land Rover watching women do all the work

A book review by Alice Friedemann of Ann Jones “Looking for Lovedu. Days and Nights in Africa”. 2001. The book deserves 5 stars in terms of hardship and difficulty. It ought to be required reading in schools to alert women … Continue reading

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Book Review of “Wheel of Fortune. The Battle for Oil and Power in Russia”

Alice Friedemann’s book review of “Wheel of Fortune. The Battle for Oil and Power in Russia”, by Thane Gustafson. 2012. The main thesis of this book is that Russia will collapse again. Soon.  Unless Russia drills offshore and in the … Continue reading

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Read Chagnon’s “Noble Savages” instead – “Falling Sky” is co-written by one of his attackers

A book review by Alice Friedemann at energyskeptic of “The Falling Sky: Words of a Yanomami Shaman” by Davi Kopenawa and Bruce Albert. Anyone who knows about the baseless, hateful attacks on Chagnon by Tierney and other cultural anthropologists like … Continue reading

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New York Times review of “Countdown” by Alan Weisman

A book review by Nathaniel Rich, October 11, 2013, New York Times of: COUNTDOWN. Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth? By Alan Weisman If we wanted to bring about the extinction of the human race as quickly … Continue reading

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Book Review of Visit Sunny Chernobyl

Alice Friedemann’s book review of Andrew Blackwell’s 2012 “Visit Sunny Chernobyl and other adventures in the world’s most polluted places” If you want to see photos from Blackwell’s travels, go to his website “Visit Sunny Chernobyl” Blackwell is the ideal … Continue reading

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The Race to Adapt, a book review of Klare’s “The Race for What’s Left”

Coltan mining Preface. This is a book review of Michael Klare’s “The Race For What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources” . Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, … Continue reading

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Book Reviews: Why I Write Them, How I Find Them

I’ve read thousands of mainly non-fiction books over the past 40 years. Why I write Book Reviews I write book reviews for a number of reasons — to give my brain a “workout”, as a source of information for my … Continue reading

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Willpower: How to get it and lead a more joyful life

A book review by Alice Friedemann of “Willpower.  Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, by Roy Baumeister & John Tierney, 2011. Self-control is ultimately about enjoying your time on earth and sharing joy with those you love. Warning Signs Your Willpower … Continue reading

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Book Review of Englund’s “The Beauty and the Sorrow”

Confusion, chaos, rumor, fear, hope, terror, perhaps that’s exactly what you’d expect of war, but far more real when you’re reading ordinary people’s diaries, not accounts of generals or dry facts of history. Even though I’m old enough not to … Continue reading

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