Peak Oil Books for Everyone
Sharon December 17th, 2010
In a perfect world, all our friends and family would have a complete understanding of peak oil and we could all talk spend the winter holidays talking about those things that most concern us. And in a perfect world, none of us would still be shopping for holiday presents in late December.
The reality, however, is imperfect. Most of us have friends and families who don’t “get it” yet, and some who are actively hostile. They may look askance at our concern with the price of oil or wonder why we’re running on about this. The holidays are a good time to (gently) offer up a little new information that helps people make sense of what you are thinking about. And you may have to buy a few gifts anyway!
Again, in a perfect world, there’d be one perfect book out there that you could give to anyone that would be enlightening, revealing, engaging to everyone, and after reading it, everyone would totally get it. In reality, if you give your Mom or your neighbor or your boss the wrong book for the holidays, they are likely to end up at someone’s library sale unread. But just because Mom didn’t read the last book you gave her about peak oil doesn’t mean she won’t read any book – the trick is matching the book to the person. Just as not everyone is reached with the peak oil message in the same way, you’ve got to match the media with the message. So here are some thoughts about books to give that special person who doesn’t (yet) quite get it.
Not every one of these books is a “peak oil book” in the sense of being a simple explanation of the subject, although some are – many of them include only a brief explanation of what peak oil is. What makes these “peak oil books” and valuable for spreading the word is that all of them take peak oil as a given, a basic, normative assumption that has to come into any assessment of the future. In some ways, this can be even more powerfully effective than giving someone a book that attempts to persuade them that there’s an issue. Recognizing that the ideas you have been talking about are so normal that they are integrated into the background assumptions of an author’s work can be extraordinarily persuasive.
For your co-worker who thinks you are way too worked up about all this: Richard Heinberg’s The Party’s Over. The first of the popular books about peak oil is still one of the best, particularly for someone who needs a fairly straightforward, dispassionate book that lays out the case clearly.
For your skeptical Sister: She’s the kind of person who wants to see the numbers *herself* and make sure they add up, and she’s sure not going to believe anything said by someone who used to steal her Halloween candy: Kenneth Deffeyes Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert’s Peak is a well written, thoughtful introduction to Hubbert’s Peak, including an excellent introduction to the math behind it.
For your Sister In Law who can’t stop talking about The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Ben Hewitt’s The Town that Food Saved is about Hardwick, Vermont and its local food endeavors. More deeply, however, it is an attempt to ask what a viable local, low fossil-input food system might actually look like, and uses Hardwick as a case study.
Your friend “the Money Guy” who sees everything in economic terms: Jeff Rubin’s Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller which prophesies the end of globalization, the re-onshoring of manufacturing and a radical economic shift as a result of peak oil.
Your Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart loving younger brother: Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects by Dmitry Orlov. Inscribe in it something along the lines of “I know this book doesn’t look like it will crack you up, but you have to read this!” and you are all set!
Your history-addict Father – instead of yet another David MacCullough book, get him John Michael Greer’s The Long Descent. He’s bound to be fascinated, and just as the “but…” comes out of his mouth on each page, he’ll find his own arguments already answered by Greer.
The friend who is always pushing your comfort zone and making you think harder: Keith Farnish’s Times Up: An Uncivilized Solution to a Global Crisis starts at the microscopic level and moves outwards, inexorably showing how peak oil and climate change are a disaster for our society.
Your cousin who always has the latest best seller on her bedside table: Prelude by Kurt Cobb is a thriller that takes you through the story of peak oil as a story of intrigue and thrills. You don’t even have to preface it with “I thought you might want to learn more about this…” In fact, better not, just give it to them, and be prepared for the awakening!
And, well, this is my blog, so I feel like I can gently suggest that for your garden crazy friend, you could offer A Nation of Farmers or for your friend who is increasingly uneasy about the world but can’t put their finger on the problem, Depletion and Abundance.
Happy reading!