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Chris Goodall's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Chris Goodall recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Chris Goodall's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
An innovative analysis that shows how the shift to solar energy--in particular, the use of photovoltaic cells--is both economically advantageous and inevitable, and will rival the information and communication technologies revolution in its transformative effects.

In Solar Revolution, fund manager and former corporate buyout specialist Travis Bradford argues--on the basis of standard business and economic forecasting models--that over the next two decades solar energy will increasingly become the best and cheapest choice for most electricity and energy applications....
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Recommended by Chris Goodall, and 1 others.

Chris GoodallBradford…said (Source)

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2
The Prize recounts the panoramic history of oil -- and the struggle for wealth and power that has always surrounded oil. This struggle has shaken the world economy, dictated the outcome of wars, and transformed the destiny of men and nations.

The Prize is as much a history of the twentieth century as of the oil industry itself. The canvas of history is enormous -- from the drilling of the first well in Pennsylvania through two great world wars to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm.
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Recommended by Bill Gates, Chris Goodall, and 2 others.

Bill Gates[On Bill Gates's reading list in 2012.] (Source)

Chris GoodallA wonderfully readable history of the development of the oil age. (Source)

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3
A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel-driven civilization.

I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years.
--Bill Gates, Gates Notes ,...
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Recommended by Bill Gates, Chris Goodall, and 2 others.

Bill GatesSmil is one of my favorite authors, and this is his masterpiece. He lays out how our need for energy has shaped human history—from the era of donkey-powered mills to today’s quest for renewable energy. It’s not the easiest book to read, but at the end you’ll feel smarter and better informed about how energy innovation alters the course of civilizations. (Source)

Chris GoodallThere isn’t a page you don’t learn something from. (Source)

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4
Addressing the sustainable energy crisis in an objective manner, this enlightening book analyzes the relevant numbers and organizes a plan for change on both a personal level and an international scale—for Europe, the Untied States, and the world. In case study format, this informative reference answers questions surrounding nuclear energy, the potential of sustainable fossil fuels, and the possibilities of sharing renewable power with foreign countries. While underlining the difficulty of minimizing consumption, the tone remains positive as it debunks misinformation and clearly explains the... more

Bill GatesIf someone wants an overall view of how energy gets used, where it comes from, and the challenges in switching to new sources, this is the book to read. (Source)

Chris GoodallWhat the late David MacKay did was give us a rigorous understanding of the way that we use and generate energy. (Source)

Richard Betts@mark_lynas @nmrqip @ClimateAudit @Revkin @BillGates @UCSUSA @theCCCuk @rahmstorf Interesting that you think that. Maybe like Steve you encounter a vocal subset. I know many who are not anti-nuclear, especially since (a) Lovelock started talking about it (including at a Gaia meeting in Dartington in the mid-2000s) & (b) David Mackay published his famous book. (Source)

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5
A fascinating look at the perils and promise of geoengineering and our potential future on a warming planet

The risks of global warming are pressing and potentially vast. The difficulty of doing without fossil fuels is daunting, possibly even insurmountable. So there is an urgent need to rethink our responses to the crisis. To meet that need, a small but increasingly influential group of scientists is exploring proposals for planned human intervention in the climate system: a stratospheric veil against the sun, the cultivation of photosynthetic plankton, fleets of unmanned...
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Chris GoodallThis book is largely about reducing the amount of the sun’s energy that gets through to the earth’s surface as a way of counterbalancing the increase of the heat blanket in the earth’s atmosphere. (Source)

Maarten BoudryThe poetic envoi of Oliver Morton's (@Eaterofsun) The Planet Remade, a fascinating book on the history (and future) of geo-engineering. (In this quote, he's imagining aerosol spraying in the stratosphere). We better start taking this technology seriously. https://t.co/BBvRN16Tgt https://t.co/bBZzdhw4Tj (Source)

The CEO Library Community (through anonymous form)One of the best 3 books I've read in 2019 (Source)

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