The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World Paperback – Illustrated, 26 September 2012
by
Daniel Yergin
(Author)
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- The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of NationsDaniel YerginHardcover
- The Prize: Epic Quest for Oil, Money and PowerDaniel YerginHardcover
Product details
- Language : English
- Paperback : 820 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0143121944
- ISBN-13 : 978-0143121947
- Best Sellers Rank: 8,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer reviews:
Product description
Review
"Mr. Yergin is back with a sequel to The Prize. It is called The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, and, if anything, it's an even better book. It is searching, impartial and alarmingly up to date... The Quest will be necessary reading for C.E.O.'s, conservationists, lawmakers, generals, spies, tech geeks, thriller writers, ambitious terrorists and many others... The Quest is encyclopedic in its ambitions; it resists easy synopsis."-- THE NEW YORK TIMES (Dwight Garner) "A sprawling story richly textured with original material, quirky details and amusing anecdotes... The tale is generously sprinkled with facts debunking common misperceptions, and Mr. Yergin sagely analyzes how well the energy industry really works."--THE WALL STREET JOURNAL "It is a cause for celebration that Yergin has returned with his perspective on a very different landscape... [I]t is impossible to think of a better introduction to the essentials of energy in the 21st century. In Yergin's lucid, easy prose, the 800 pages flow freely... The Quest is... the definitive guide to how we got here." --THE FINANCIAL TIMES "An important book... a valuable primer on the basic issues that define energy today. Yergin is careful in his analysis and never polemical... Despite that, The Quest makes it clear that energy policy is not on the right course anywhere in the world and that everyone--on the left and the right, in the developed and the developing world--need to rethink strongly held positions."--THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (Fareed Zakaria) "Mr Yergin's previous book, The Prize, a history of the global oil industry, had the advantage of an epic tale and wondrous timing... The Quest, as its more open-ended title suggests, is a broader and more ambitious endeavour... The Quest is a masterly piece of work and, as a comprehensive guide to the world's great energy needs and dilemmas, it will be hard to beat."--THE ECONOMIST "The Quest is a book--a tour de force, really--that evaluates the alternatives to oil so broadly and deeply that the physical tome could double as a doorstop... It is best read slowly, perhaps one chapter per day maximum, if the goal is to actually absorb the rich detail and sometimes complicated workings described by Yergin."--USA TODAY
About the Author
Daniel Yergin is a highly respected authority on energy, international politics, and economics, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power, The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, and Shattered Peace: The Origins of the Cold War, and coauthor of Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy. He is vice chairman of IHS Markit, one of the leading information and research firms in the world, a member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations, a senior trustee of the Brookings Institution, and has served on the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under the last four presidential administrations.
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Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com
Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars
223 reviews

George Mears
5.0 out of 5 stars
I was buying additional copies so isn't that a ringing endorsement?
17 March 2017 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
Already provided a review long ago--which was why I purchased additional copies to share with others. Coming back and purchasing additional copies of a book should be interpreted as about as high an endorsement as I can think of! and this book is not just for scientists and students. Anyone reading this book will come away with a much better understanding of where cheap, available, and save fossil fuel should stand in the hierarchy of our energy needs--and completely understand why someone like Rex Tillerson was considered capable of becoming Secretary of State assuming he was willing to take this job on for the right reasons.
7 people found this helpful

Edward L. Marker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Daniel Yergin did a wonderful piece of writing with The Prize
2 July 2018 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
Daniel Yergin did a wonderful piece of writing with The Prize. His factual detailed writing about World Energy is something every American should read. Energy, its importance and the ability to acquire it is a subject every country and its people should understand.
The Quest continues the pursuit of knowledge regarding the subject fo Energy.
The Quest continues the pursuit of knowledge regarding the subject fo Energy.
6 people found this helpful

Stephen
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Quest - Recent History of Energy, Security, and Environmentalism
27 June 2012 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
This is must buy. I purchased the CD and Audible versions. The book traces the history of the current forms of energy with the focus on the positive and negative impacts on economics and environment, the politics, and the recent developments of the technologies. Interweave is the discussion on the geopolitics of energy and the environmental movement. Obviously, ever country is different in its energy use and policy actions. I found the sections on the automobile and energy transportation to be the best parts.
In general, the author is apolitical. He advocates two principles.
First, he does advocate that the use of the market forces to control the development of energy production and transportation as well as the control of the environmental impact. Although there is a need for government to use taxpayer money to fill the gaps were the market does reach (for example the US government seeded self-sustaining cooperatives to provide rural power generation / transportation which greatly improved agricultural and other remote industries as family homes), in general, command economies are inefficient since they are subject to market forces. Second, he advocates the use of all forms of energy: the traditional forms: oil, gas (all forms), geothermal, hydro, and nuclear (no carbon footprint), and the growing alternatives: solar, wind, and biomass. Diversification reduces the community's risk in the market and encourages competition. Gas is cheaper now and 1/2 of coal's carbon footprint but it was not always so. Changing technology and government regulations and it may make coal cheaper to the point it can not be ignored again. Thus, do not convert the coal fire plant but build a gas one. Do not close the nuclear plant or dismantle dams but encourage the wind and solar farms.
He is careful to point out to two dynamics with in current energy status.
1. Scale. Wind and solar are limited in their scale and predictability. Thus, their value is in being a supplement to the traditional forms that produce are mass scale, all the time, and in all weather such as coal, gas, hydro, and nuclear. When the wind blows and the sun shines, they will provide the energy grid with power and the gas / coal plants reduce production. When the wind dies and sun does not shine, the traditional plants increase.
2. All Electric Cars. The prediction of all electric cars is daunting to implement. First, there is no real infrastructure for electric cars when not at home or in the car pool. Even apartment dwellers do not have a place to re-charge and service stations cannot support a large electric fleet quickly with rapid recharge or battery swaps. Second, the electric production may have to double to replace the gas internal combustion engine. The analysis is that hybrid and all-electric will replace gas cars but not completely and not everywhere, especially remote areas with limited energy grids. In these places it is easier to carry your gas versus plugging in.
In general, the author is apolitical. He advocates two principles.
First, he does advocate that the use of the market forces to control the development of energy production and transportation as well as the control of the environmental impact. Although there is a need for government to use taxpayer money to fill the gaps were the market does reach (for example the US government seeded self-sustaining cooperatives to provide rural power generation / transportation which greatly improved agricultural and other remote industries as family homes), in general, command economies are inefficient since they are subject to market forces. Second, he advocates the use of all forms of energy: the traditional forms: oil, gas (all forms), geothermal, hydro, and nuclear (no carbon footprint), and the growing alternatives: solar, wind, and biomass. Diversification reduces the community's risk in the market and encourages competition. Gas is cheaper now and 1/2 of coal's carbon footprint but it was not always so. Changing technology and government regulations and it may make coal cheaper to the point it can not be ignored again. Thus, do not convert the coal fire plant but build a gas one. Do not close the nuclear plant or dismantle dams but encourage the wind and solar farms.
He is careful to point out to two dynamics with in current energy status.
1. Scale. Wind and solar are limited in their scale and predictability. Thus, their value is in being a supplement to the traditional forms that produce are mass scale, all the time, and in all weather such as coal, gas, hydro, and nuclear. When the wind blows and the sun shines, they will provide the energy grid with power and the gas / coal plants reduce production. When the wind dies and sun does not shine, the traditional plants increase.
2. All Electric Cars. The prediction of all electric cars is daunting to implement. First, there is no real infrastructure for electric cars when not at home or in the car pool. Even apartment dwellers do not have a place to re-charge and service stations cannot support a large electric fleet quickly with rapid recharge or battery swaps. Second, the electric production may have to double to replace the gas internal combustion engine. The analysis is that hybrid and all-electric will replace gas cars but not completely and not everywhere, especially remote areas with limited energy grids. In these places it is easier to carry your gas versus plugging in.
10 people found this helpful

—-
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Myriad of Information; Alarmingly relevant to today and foreshadowing of tomorrow.
2 July 2013 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
I initially read this book a few months ago, and decided to read it again after recently reading Yergin's previous book, The Prize. Everything now seems to fall into place as his new book takes off from the ending of his previous. The Quest is an absolute treasure trove of knowledge, information, and analysis regarding not only energy, but also the history, technology, politics, science (eg climate change), and globalization/economics of the last few decades, as well as the events of today, and projections for tomorrow. Additionally, the book is alarmingly relevant and up to date, yet still optimistic.
I'll admit, the book is not an easy read (at least for me). It's a long text that goes into great detail about some of our most important issues. However, the people talking about the book's 5 sections not "flowing" or being related to each other, overlook that Yergin wrote the book with the intent that each section need not be read in order. However, if you give this book your complete attention and commit to reading it carefully, you will be exposed to one of the best explanations of today's political and economic world. As a student, I feel that this book should be the staple for anyone studying business, economics, political science, engineering, finance, history, science, etc.
The Quest, along with The Prize, is a must read for anyone looking to grasp where we as society have been, where we are, and where we are going.
I'll admit, the book is not an easy read (at least for me). It's a long text that goes into great detail about some of our most important issues. However, the people talking about the book's 5 sections not "flowing" or being related to each other, overlook that Yergin wrote the book with the intent that each section need not be read in order. However, if you give this book your complete attention and commit to reading it carefully, you will be exposed to one of the best explanations of today's political and economic world. As a student, I feel that this book should be the staple for anyone studying business, economics, political science, engineering, finance, history, science, etc.
The Quest, along with The Prize, is a must read for anyone looking to grasp where we as society have been, where we are, and where we are going.
7 people found this helpful