Scan barcode
dqan's review
4.0
Having read Martin's previous book, 'Superfuel', I was looking forward to also reading 'Coal Wars'. Although I'd been hoping for a slightly more technical book, 'Coal Wars' is an excellent read on an extremely important topic.
The structure of the book is geographical in nature and driven by human stories. After a brief prologue, Martin presents us with a history of the Tennessee Valley Authority, with its past triumphs and modern challenges. From there we are taken to mining country, Kentucky and West Virginia. Then we head west to Wyoming and Colorado. From there, we head across the Pacific to take a tour of China's provinces and its massive coal industry. We finish the global tour with stops in Germany and Ohio. Along the way, we meet the major players in coal's story--the mining operators, the miners, politicians, university professors, and environmentalists.
Where 'Superfuel' was largely a story of energy's possible future, 'Coal Wars' is more rooted in the past, and coal has a deep history. Generations of families have made their livings off of coal; entire towns have sprung up around the mines and still depend on them for employing significant numbers of people. Martin lets us get to know some of these people letting us hear their hopes and fears for the future.
While he does a good job of showing the coal story from various angles, Martin still makes it clear that he sees coal as a dinosaur, a relic of the past that needs to be replaced soon with a far cleaner technology. Perhaps because of this, Martin doesn't seem to spend as much time explaining the technology of using coal as fuel. I was hoping to learn more about 'scrubbing' and gasification, and left a little disappointed at the relative absence of such technicalities, but I can imagine other readers who will breathe a sigh of relief.
What should replace coal? Martin does not delve deeply into this topic. His book 'Superfuel' presents one possible answer, but there are many other possibilities that need to be looked at and implemented if we are ever to replace coal.
'Coal Wars' is an interesting and informative look at an extremely important topic, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.
I received both 'Coal Wars' and 'Superfuel' at no cost through the Goodreads First Reads program.
The structure of the book is geographical in nature and driven by human stories. After a brief prologue, Martin presents us with a history of the Tennessee Valley Authority, with its past triumphs and modern challenges. From there we are taken to mining country, Kentucky and West Virginia. Then we head west to Wyoming and Colorado. From there, we head across the Pacific to take a tour of China's provinces and its massive coal industry. We finish the global tour with stops in Germany and Ohio. Along the way, we meet the major players in coal's story--the mining operators, the miners, politicians, university professors, and environmentalists.
Where 'Superfuel' was largely a story of energy's possible future, 'Coal Wars' is more rooted in the past, and coal has a deep history. Generations of families have made their livings off of coal; entire towns have sprung up around the mines and still depend on them for employing significant numbers of people. Martin lets us get to know some of these people letting us hear their hopes and fears for the future.
While he does a good job of showing the coal story from various angles, Martin still makes it clear that he sees coal as a dinosaur, a relic of the past that needs to be replaced soon with a far cleaner technology. Perhaps because of this, Martin doesn't seem to spend as much time explaining the technology of using coal as fuel. I was hoping to learn more about 'scrubbing' and gasification, and left a little disappointed at the relative absence of such technicalities, but I can imagine other readers who will breathe a sigh of relief.
What should replace coal? Martin does not delve deeply into this topic. His book 'Superfuel' presents one possible answer, but there are many other possibilities that need to be looked at and implemented if we are ever to replace coal.
'Coal Wars' is an interesting and informative look at an extremely important topic, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.
I received both 'Coal Wars' and 'Superfuel' at no cost through the Goodreads First Reads program.
biblioholicbeth's review
5.0
Any book that can make a scientific topic not only understandable, but truly *readable* to me is a good book. When it happens to be about coal, the world's dependence upon it, and those big players who insist that the reduction of our dependency is impossible...then that book must be partially magic, for this topic is not my typical bedtime reading.
Richard Martin has written such a book, traveling from Kentucky to China and places in between to get the story on how and why coal is still as strong as it is. He effectively makes the argument that coal is facing a crisis from which it won't recover, though it's death knoll won't be rung any time soon. It's almost compulsively readable, and absolutely fascinating. And for those of you who are absolutely convinced that man-made global warming is a hoax, then be warned - Martin makes absolutely no bones about the fact that his belief in it is real, that it is now, and that it will soon become irreversible if something is not done. So read at the risk of learning something that flies in the face of your own beliefs.
Frankly, this book should be required reading for most. It makes a compelling argument, and most importantly, he posits that the workers must be taken care of for our coal dependence to have a chance of waning. He throws out a suggestion of something similar to the GI Bill, which, personally, I find almost brilliant. Better to retrain the workforce than have them jobless - these are hardworking people who deserve to be successful in another field.
So. Read the book. Weep over the monster we have created, or cheer over the steps that seem so incrementally positive. Maybe even both, sometimes together. Then decide to stay involved and educated - if not for YOUR future, then for the ones that follow.
Richard Martin has written such a book, traveling from Kentucky to China and places in between to get the story on how and why coal is still as strong as it is. He effectively makes the argument that coal is facing a crisis from which it won't recover, though it's death knoll won't be rung any time soon. It's almost compulsively readable, and absolutely fascinating. And for those of you who are absolutely convinced that man-made global warming is a hoax, then be warned - Martin makes absolutely no bones about the fact that his belief in it is real, that it is now, and that it will soon become irreversible if something is not done. So read at the risk of learning something that flies in the face of your own beliefs.
Frankly, this book should be required reading for most. It makes a compelling argument, and most importantly, he posits that the workers must be taken care of for our coal dependence to have a chance of waning. He throws out a suggestion of something similar to the GI Bill, which, personally, I find almost brilliant. Better to retrain the workforce than have them jobless - these are hardworking people who deserve to be successful in another field.
So. Read the book. Weep over the monster we have created, or cheer over the steps that seem so incrementally positive. Maybe even both, sometimes together. Then decide to stay involved and educated - if not for YOUR future, then for the ones that follow.
More...