Peak Oil Books

In the process of writing my book I've extensively researched the topic of peak oil.  A large part of this research has been reading as many books as I could on the subject of peak oil.  These books run a wide gamut from well researched and well argued to chaotic and illogical.  I will be maintaining this page in an effort to help others navigate this forest of peak oil books.

Peak Oil Books


Peak Oil Books

Dark Mountain: Issue 4
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
Hold Your Applause!
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
Peak Oil
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
The End of Growth
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
Absolutely Positive
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
2050 - Tomorrow's Tourism
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
Dark Mountain: Issue 3
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
Buck: A Survivor of the Shut Down
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
Peeking at Peak Oil
5 of 5 stars
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Environment and Food
0 of 5 stars
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Petroplague
0 of 5 stars
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Flash Crash
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
Dark Mountain: Issue 2
0 of 5 stars
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Prelude
0 of 5 stars
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Peak Oil
0 of 5 stars
by iMinds
tagged: peak-oil-books
The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century's Sustainability Crises
5 of 5 stars
fantastic book - a "sustainability bootcamp" in a book
tagged: peak-oil-books
Afterlight
0 of 5 stars
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After the Car
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
Carbon Shift
0 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books
Oil 101
5 of 5 stars
tagged: peak-oil-books

goodreads.com

Context Books
These books do not specifically address the issue of peak oil, but rather provide important contextual details surrounding the issue.


Book TitleAmazonYear PublishedAuthor(s)I’ve Read?ToneEthosPathosLogosCombined ScoreNotes
A Vast Machine2013Paul EdwardsYes0Important for understanding the climate change debate
Cradle to Cradle2002Michael Braungart & William McDonoughYes0Important for understanding the future of sustainable consumer goods
Currency Wars2012James RickardsYes0Important for understanding the current global "race to the bottom" currency wars
Endgame2011John Mauldin & Jonathan TepperYes0Important for understanding the debt deleveraging our world is now undertaking
Investing in Energy2011Gianna BernYes0
Investing in Oil and Gas2007Mike MayYes0
Pioneering Portfolio Management2009David SwensenYes0The bible of modern portfolio theory
Private Empire2012Steve CollYes0Important for understanding the historical context of ExxonMobil
The Black Swan2010Nassim TalebYes0Important for understanding modern financial risk
The Collapse of Complex Societies1990Joseph TainterYes0Important for understanding how societies collapse from decreasing marginal returns to complexity
The Demon-Haunted World1997Carl Sagan & Ann DruyanYes0A great guide to critical thinking.
The Ivy Portfolio2011Mebane T. Faber & Eric W. RichardsonYes0A practicle guide to modern portfolio theory
The Next 100 Years2010George FriedmanYes0A great guide to geopolitical and military strategies of the next 100 years
The Next Decade2012George FriedmanYes0A great guide to geopolitical and military strategies of the next decade
The Prize2008Daniel YerginYes0Important for understanding the historical context of the oil industry
This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly2011Carmen Reinhart & Kenneth RogoffYes0Important for understanding the historical context of our current debt crisis
When Money Dies2010Adam FergussonYes0Important for understanding the historical context of hyperinflation
Who Will Feed China?1995Lester Russell BrownYes0An interesting view of "peak food" from the 1990's


Rating Methodology
Since peak oil is a contentious issue, I believe that the most important factor in judging these books is analyzing the ability of the authors to persuade their audience.  Ethos, Pathos and Logos are the three primary modes of persuasion first introduced by Aristotle's work "On Rhetoric."  I will be judging these books primarily on these three categories of persuasion.

Ethos refers to the author's qualification to speak from authority.  Authors who are experts in their respective fields, such as respected professors and successful businessmen, have a stronger ethos than authors who have no formal experience, education or expertise.  Ethos can become a form of logical fallacy (argumentum ad verecundiam) if authors argue from that authority, for example by saying "trust me, I'm an expert."  If, however, authors rely on logic to make a sound argument, ethos can provide an important backing to their persuasion.  Ethos is dependent on "social proof."  Professors who write research papers that are heavily cited by other academics have high social proof.  Authors who have large constituents of followers have high social proof.  Being published by a "big four" publishing house can signal social proof and increase ethos.  Self-publishing a book can implicitly signal a lack of this social proof.

Pathos is the appeal to an audience's emotions.  Pathos is one of the hardest modes of persuasion to balance.  A successful author leans on pathos enough to make the argument interesting and relevant.  Authors that rely too much on pathos end up sounding like hysterical Cassandras, shouting about how the sky is falling.  Authors who avoid pathos often write books that are dull, dry and hard to digest.  Authors who have a political ax to grind often appeal to the emotions of one side of the political aisle while ignoring or deriding the other side; as a political moderate, I find such books difficult to take seriously.

Logos is the appeal to logic.  Authors who properly employ logos persuade their audience by arguing from data and walking the audience through their inductive, abductive, or deductive reasoning.  One of the most important aspects of exercising logos is avoiding logical fallacies.  All too often authors resort to ad hominem attacks, straw man arguments or begging the question in order to make their point.  The late Carl Sagen has a great treatment of these fallacies in his book "The Demon-Haunted World."

For my rating scale I used a 5-point scale.  Empirical study has shown that a Likert scale with five options is better than a 10-point scale.

Missing One?
Obviously I'm extremely interested in the topic of peak oil and I want to have as complete a picture of the issue as I can get.  If I'm missing a peak oil themed book on this list that you think I should read and include, please email me: will@peakoilproof.com