Energy: A Human History

摘要

People have lived and died, businesses have prospered and failed, and nations have risen to world power and declined, all over energy challenges. Ultimately, the history of these challenges tells the story of humanity itself. This author illustrates how wood gave way to coal and coal made room for oil, as coal and oil are now making room for natural gas, renewable energy, and nuclear power. He looks back on five centuries of progress, seen through the eyes of such influential figures as Queen Elizabeth I, James Watt, Benjamin Franklin, petroleum pioneer Edwin Drake, Henry Ford, Rachel Carson and the Italian futurist Cesare Marchetti.