Edwin Black, award-winning author of IBM and the Holocaust, has mined scores of corporate and governmental archives to assemble thousands of previously uncovered and long-forgotten documents and studies into this dramatic story. Black traces a continuum of rapacious energy cartels and special interests dating back nearly 5,000 years, from wood to coal to oil, and then to the bicycle and electric battery cartels of the 1890s, which created thousands of electric vehicles that plied American streets a century ago. But those noiseless and clean cars were scuttled by petroleum interests, despite the little-known efforts of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford to mass-produce electric cars powered by personal backyard energy stations. Black also documents how General Motors criminally conspired to undermine mass transit in dozens of cities and how Big Oil, Big Corn, and Big Coal have subverted synthetic fuels and other alternatives.He then brings the story full-circle to the present day oil crises, global warming and beyond. Black showcases overlooked compressed-gas, electric and hydrogen cars on the market today, as well as inexpensive all-function home energy units that could eliminate much oil usage. His eye-opening call for a Manhattan Project for immediate energy independence will help energize society to finally take action.
Download and start listening now!
"A great read on the history of fuel and how we got addicted to oil and its 19th Century technological wonder, the internal combustion engine. Also explores the relationship of the ruling-owning class to everybody else." — Ken (4 out of 5 stars)
"A great read on the history of fuel and how we got addicted to oil and its 19th Century technological wonder, the internal combustion engine. Also explores the relationship of the ruling-owning class to everybody else."
" A page-turning narrative about the greed and corruption in our politically charged corporate America and how this addicted the world to oil. "
" how oil became king "
" Absolutely fascinating documentation about the turn of century alternatives that were neglected and undermined to create the infrastructure we deal with today. "
" Obviously, this book was rather rabidly anti-oil. However, it did have some good facts and statistics that I utilized. "
" pack with intriguing facts.. "
" Detailed without enough story. Interesting at points. "
" Would've been four stars if the conclusion wasn't that hydrogen is the answer. "
" If one wishes to gain an historical perspective on the influence of big oil in this modern world of commerce, this is the book to read. "
" I agree with many of the other reviews - lots of research went into this book, but the writing style and obvious anti-oil point of view make it difficult at times to keep reading. "
Edwin Black is the award-winning, New York Times and international investigative author of 120 bestselling editions in fourteen languages in sixty-one countries, as well as scores of newspaper and magazine articles in the leading publications of the United States, Europe and Israel. With more than a million books in print, his work focuses on human rights, genocide and hate, corporate criminality and corruption, governmental misconduct, academic fraud, philanthropy abuse, oil addiction, alternative energy and historical investigation. Editors have submitted Black’s work nine times for Pulitzer Prize nomination, and in recent years he has been the recipient of a series of top editorial awards.
Stephen Hoye has worked as a professional actor in London and Los Angeles for more than thirty years. Trained at Boston University and the Guildhall in London, he has acted in television series and six feature films and has appeared in London’s West End. His audiobook narration has won him fifteen AudioFile Earphones Awards.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.