Jeremy Leggett

In this book Leggett considers the causes of the 2008 financial crash and if we have reached the peak oil point, and the effects and implications that this has had so far, and will have in the near and medium future.

He looks at how the architects of the financial crisis have escaped mostly scot free, the way that the oil oligarchs and bankers have ingratiated themselves in such a way that they cannot see a way out of the problem that they have caused, and beyond the end of oil. A lot of the accusations that he makes in here are well founded, and reading this will make you seethe with the vested interests and complacency of the political and business elite.

The book is written as a collection of chapters and articles. Whilst it is once to have a change of pace in the text, there didn't seem to be a lot of logic with regards to the order. Leggett has a unique position, in that he mixes with the oil and political leaders, and most importantly he is not afraid to speak his mind to them. he also speaks of those business leaders that want to see change and foresight and leadership, but are not getting it.

This is a very important subject as it will affect the whole of humanity in the long run, but the text did get a little tedious to read at times.… (mehr)

This is one of the better peak-oil books. Leggett has a broader perspective and is concerned about climate change and certain cultural issues as well as peak oil. He envisions a rush to use coal to make up for a petroleum shortfall and spends some time on how that is likely to play out. He is also a bit more optimistic than some other authors. Although he predicts a global depression (optimists in this territory see only a depression) due to a faltering energy supply, he suggests that this will result in stabilization of the population and a sustainable culture.… (mehr)

Half Gone refers to the current/imminent state of the world's oil reserves, but is only half the book's subject. The other half addresses the issue of global warming/climate change, and Leggett's concern over the twin horns of this particular, apparently self-inflicted dilemma is palpable throughout the text.

The tale is book-ended by a pseudo-fairy tale called 'The Tale of the Blue Pearl', which is a kind of not-so-subtle, tongue in cheek look at the current state of affairs (the first half), and a, frankly, rather optimistic assessment of where the world might next go as it attempts to tackle both global warming and peak oil in the next couple of decades.

To me, this is a fascinating book, tackling as it does two issues that I take great interest in, and presenting them both in a thoroughly engaging, and mercifully-non-US-centric fashion. That said, Leggett's bias as head of a solar energy company does tend to peek through some of the later chapters, where he talks up the technology's potential quite substantially. I rather suspect that the garden in that area isn't quite as rosy as he'd like us to believe.

The book is, rather like Mark Lynas' accounts, very much a personal view, and we get the author's recollections of various moments in his life throughout the story, mainly to illustrate certain points. However, whereas I found Lynas' self-promotion in Six Degrees a bit intrusive (and downright dull in a 'look how worthy I am' in High Tide), here Leggett's reflections are of value, partly because as a former geologist/academic, former ecological campaigner and now a businessman trying to lead the solar revolution, he's built up relevant experience to impart.

So, yes, I rate this book - it's an excellent read, and captivating, but it's not eye-opening in the way that, say, Michael Klare's Blood and Oil is (Klare's book lays bare the explicit connection between oil and US military/foreign policy in a manner that just left me stunned).… (mehr)