Customer Reviews

The Energy of Nature

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If you have little scientific training but you still want to know why the sun shines, why the winds blow, why the sea is green and what's going on in the bowels of the earth then this is the book for you. Along the way you'll get a complimentary introduction to relevant aspects of chemistry and physics if you need it. Just for fun, you'll also find out whether water really swirls down the drain in the opposite direction in the hemisphere that's not your own (it depends). The author, a naturalist who has written several other fine books, has taken on the Full Monty here: nothing less than how the world works. And she pulls it off. Energy is her leitmotif in every study but it leads her on a very comprehensive tour. Her many fine illustrations aid in the telling of the tale. The book is reminiscent of Howard Blum's masterful 1955 `Time's Arrow and Evolution.'

This is a fantastic read, because it presumes to give you a totality of energy sources and movements in the environment, and succeeds! I am merely an interested amateur but I found all my questions answered, and much more. Peilou puts all the different sources of energy in perspective, and gives you a sense of their relative weights. For example, nearly all wave energy is merely derived energy from wind, which in turn is nearly all derived energy from incoming solar energy in the infrared and other spectra. Of course, the rotation of the earth, the heat from the core of the earth, and the gravity tides of the moon and sun contribute, but only in a secondary capacity. From this we must conclude that the most useful source of energy is that closest to the pit head, namely solar and wind, not as much tidal, current, or geothermal, although they can play their part.

We're all worried about the future, but this book puts things in perspective so you can look at things more calmly and rationally. I look forward to reading more from Prof. Pielou!