Promotional Information

A landmark book rolls out a bold, new, energy-based theory of human history based on a simple, yet powerful law: whoever controls the world's effective energy supplies during a given energy age will inevitably dominate the economic, political, and cultural history of that age.

Table of Contents

Volume 1. Before Oil: The Ages of Foraging, Agriculture, and Coal Introduction Part I. Foraging Age Bibliography to Part I Part II. Agricultural Age chapter 1 what is agriculture? chapter 2 How Did Agricultural Technology Emerge? chapter 3 The Spread of Agriculture chapter 4 Fruit, Measles, and Backache chapter 5 Transformed Society chapter 6 Muscle Power: The Mammalian Machine chapter 7 Wind and WaterPower chapter 8 Biomass: Energy for Lighting, Heating, and Metallurgy chapter 9 Weapons Technology: Energy Used to Kill and Destroy chapter 10 The Rise and Fall of Grain-Fueled Empires chapter 11 The Early Wheat Empires chapter 12 The Rise of Europe chapter 13 The Opening of the World chapter 14 The Super-Agricultural Era Bibliography to part II Part III. Coal Age chapter 15 What Is Coal? chapter 16 The Emergence of Coal Technology chapter 17 How Coal Technology Spread chapter 18 Transitional Downturn: Pollution, Poverty, and Hard Work chapter 19 Longer Lives, Better Education, More Rights chapter 20 Knowledge and Technology chapter 21 Deadlier Weapons chapter 22 Improved Agriculture chapter 23 Increased Mobility and Trade: Global Economic Integration chapter 24 The Coal-Powered Empires Bibliography to Part III Volume 2. The Oil Age and Beyond Introduction Part IV. Oil Age chapter 25 What Is Crude Oil? chapter 26 The Emergence of Oil Technology chapter 27 How Oil Technology Spread chapter 28 Life in the Oil Age chapter 29 Technology and Knowledge chapter 30 Weapons chapter 31 Agriculture in the Oil Age chapter 32 Diverse Energy Mix chapter 33 Economic Expansion chapter 34 Population Development chapter 35 The Oil-Powered Empires Bibliography to Part IV Part V. Beyond the Oil Age chapter 36 The Problem of Climate Change chapter 37 Transport Fuel for the Future chapter 38 Electricity for the Future chapter 39 Extended Oil Age?—Energy Mix until 2030 chapter 40 Who Got the Power? chapter 41 Nuclear Age or Second Coal Age? chapter 42 Energy for All Bibliography to Part V Epilogue Index

About the Author

Manfred Weissenbacher is an independent energy consultant and teaches at the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Management at Copenhagen Business School.

Reviews

This is a long single-authored work admirable for its clarity, depth, and informed synthesis—as well as its importance to scholars, policymakers, and students in the many intertwining fields concerned with energy and politics.
*SciTech Book News*

An excellent book for interdisciplinary discussion courses. Highly recommended. General readers and lower- and upper-division undergraduates.
*Choice*