Category Archives: Books

Fox news estranges millions of families and instills hate and fear in its cult members

Preface.  This is a book review that has key excerpts of “Foxocracy”, by Tobin Smith, who worked at Fox for 14 years and was friends with Roger Ailes as well as the staff that decided what the propaganda of the … Continue reading

Posted in Critical Thinking, Political Books, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Book review of “Surveillance State”

Preface. China hopes to nip rebellion in the bud before a revolution takes place by excessive monitoring and then respond quickly with improvements to prevent one. And show the world their system is better than democracy. But then there is … Continue reading

Posted in Political Books | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Why large projects fail. Especially Renewable Energy

Megaprojects over $1 billion in order of likelihood to go over budget and timeline Preface.  This is a book review of Flyvbjerg et al “How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from … Continue reading

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Infrastructure Books, Interdependencies, Supply Chains | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Why large projects fail. Especially Renewable Energy

America is not the good guy anymore

Preface.  This is a book review of Toft & Kushi’s 2023 Dying by the Sword: The Militarization of US Policy.  Oxford University Press. They make the case that America is not the good guy anymore, and hasn’t been for a … Continue reading

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The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

Preface. This is a book review of: “Unreal City: Las Vegas, Black Mesa, and the Fate of the West” by Judith Nies.  This book is about how stealing the resources of native Americans lands was made legal, despite enormous Native … Continue reading

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Biodiversity Loss, Coal, Energy Books, Energy Infrastructure, Global Warming, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Mass migrations, Peak Resources, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS), U.S. Congress Energy Policy, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

Rare Earth updates: recent research on why complex & intelligent life are rare in the Universe

Preface. These are updates to Ward & Brownlee’s book “Rare Earth: Why Complex life is Uncommon in the Universe”. If we are one of the few planets with intelligent life, what a shame it would be if we destroyed ourselves … Continue reading

Posted in Evolution, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Wood | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book review: Lights Out. A cyberattack. A nation unprepared. Surviving the aftermath

Preface.  This is one of three posts based on Ted Koppel’s book Lights out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath. There are three posts on Ted Koppel’s book “Lights out”: Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A … Continue reading

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Book review of “Prime Movers of Globalization: the History & Impact of Diesel Engines & Gas Turbines”

Preface. This is my book review of Vaclav Smil’s “Prime Movers of Globalization”. A topic near and dear to my heart after working for the 5th largest shipping company, American President Lines (now Neptune Orient Lines), for 22 years and … Continue reading

Posted in Energy Books, Peak Resources, Rail, Roads, Transportation, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months?

Preface. There are three posts on Ted Koppel’s book “Lights out”: Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A Nation Unprepared. Surviving the Aftermath What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months? Want to survive … Continue reading

Posted in Blackouts, Blackouts Electric Grid, Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Energy Books, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nuclear waste will harm future generations for a million years without underground storage

Preface. This is a book review of “Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste” and the best book I’ve read on the topic, as well as additional research on the topic. Now that world wide production of … Continue reading

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Energy Books, Nuclear Books, Nuclear Power Energy, Nuclear Waste | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments