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Daniel Yergin

The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World Hardcover – September 20, 2011

by Daniel Yergin (Author)

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This long-awaited successor to Daniel Yergin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Prize provides an essential, overarching narrative of global energy, the principal engine of geopolitical and economic change

Renowned energy authority Daniel Yergin continues the riveting story begun in his Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Prize, in this gripping account of the quest for the energy the world needs -- and the power and riches that come with it. A master story teller as well as one of the world's great experts, Yergin proves that energy is truly the engine of global political and economic change, as well as central to the battle over climate change. From the jammed streets of Beijing, the shores of the Caspian Sea, and the conflicts in the Mideast, to Capitol Hill and Silicon Valley, Yergin takes us inside the decisions and choices that are shaping our future. Without understanding the realities of energy examined in The Quest, we may surrender our place at the helm of history.

One of our great narrative writers, Yergin tells the inside stories -- of the oil market, the rise of the "petrostate", the race to control the resources of the former Soviet empire, and the massive corporate mergers that transformed the oil landscape. He shows how the drama of oil—the struggle for access to it, the battle for control, the insecurity of supply, the consequences of its use, its impact on the global economy, and the geopolitics that dominate it—will continue to shape our world. He takes on the toughest questions -- will we run out of oil, and are China and the United States destined to conflict over oil?

Yergin also reveals the surprising and turbulent history of nuclear, coal, electricity, and natural gas. He investigates the "rebirth of renewables" -- -- biofuels and wind, as well as solar energy, which venture capitalists are betting will be "the next big thing" for meeting the needs of a growing world economy. He makes clear why understanding this greening landscape and its future role are crucial.

Yergin further brings climate change into unique perspective by offering an original and unprecedented history of how the issue went from concerning a handful of scientists, terrified of a new Ice Age, to one of the overarching issues of our times.

The Quest presents an extraordinary range of characters and a panorama of dramatic stories that illustrate the principles that will shape a robust and flexible energy security system for the decades to come. It is an extraordinary achievement from an author who is truly one of our nation's great resources.

Print length

816 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Press
Publication date

September 20, 2011
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.62 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

9781594202834
ISBN-13

978-1594202834
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Editorial Reviews

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.” — Dwight Garner, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“[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

“[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.” — Fareed Zakaria, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

“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

“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

“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

“The book then takes us on an exploration of the energy industry and its history, touching down in so many remote corners of the globe, filled with such a huge cast of sinister business magnates, visionary scientists, political scoundrels and con men that it sometimes reads like a novel.” — LOS ANGELES TIMES

"This fascinating saga is the definitive book on the most important of global issues, the quest for sustainable sources of energy. Dan Yergin, the prominent energy expert of our times, weaves together security and environmental concerns to explain the system we have toady and to analyze the sensible paths forward. This is one book you must read to understand the future of our economy and our way of life." — Walter Isaacson, author of STEVE JOBS and EINSTEIN

"The Quest by Daniel Yergin, one of the world's most experienced and influential authorities on global energy, may well become the definitive work on the science, history, and economics of this most complex and important subject. This masterful and illuminating book on one of the most vital issues of our time, one that will powerfully influence international politics, economics, and nations worldwide, should be essential reading for policymakers everywhere." — Dr. Henry Kissinger, author of ON CHINA

"In the magisterial style of his earlier global narrative of energy politics, The Prize, Daniel Yergin has again delivered a sweeping, authoritative account of the science, economics, and geopolitics of energy. His writing, as ever, is clear and intelligent, and his subject could hardly be timelier." — Steve Coll, author of THE BIN LADENS and GHOST WARS

"The Quest superbly captures the great questions of energy and security that face our nation in this risky world. Daniel Yergin identifies the key issues, demonstrates their urgency, and lays out the choices. He does so with such deep expertise and with such vivid narrative writing as to make this book both important and compelling. It can help us see our way to a safer and sounder energy future." — Senator Richard Lugar, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee

About the Author

Daniel Yergin is one of the most influential voices on energy in the world and a highly respected authority on energy, international politics and economics. He is a recipient of the United States Energy Award for “lifelong achievements in energy and the promotion of international understanding.” Dr. Yergin received the Pulitzer for The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power, which became a number one best seller and was made into an eight-hour PBS/BBC series seen by 20 million people in the United States. He is chairman of I HS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the leading research and consulting firms in its field. He serves as CNBC’s Global Energy Expert.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1594202834
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Press (September 20, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 816 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781594202834
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1594202834
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.62 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #295,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #134 in Oil & Energy Industry (Books)
- #354 in Energy Production & Extraction
- #372 in Globalization & Politics

Customer Reviews:
495 ratings

About the author

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Daniel Yergin

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Daniel Yergin is the author of the bestseller The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World which has been hailed as “a fascinating saga” about the “quest for sustainable resources of energy,” and “the book you must read to understand the future of our economy and our way of life,” not to mention “necessary reading for C.E.O.’s, conservationists, lawmakers, generals, spies, tech geeks, thriller writers. . . and many others.”

He received the Pulitzer Prize for The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power, which became a number one New York Times best seller and has been translated into 17 languages.

Dr. Yergin is Vice Chairman of IHS and Founder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates and serves as CNBC’s Global Energy Expert.

Other books by Dr. Yergin include Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy. Dr. Yergin has also written for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, and many other publications.

Both The Prize and Commanding Heights were made into award winning documentaries. The eight-hour miniseries The Prize was aired on PBS, BBC, and NHK and viewed by 20 million viewers in the United States alone. The 6-hour documentary Commanding Heights that Dr. Yergin produced received three Emmy nominations, and the New York Festivals Gold World Medal for best documentary.

Dr. Yergin serves on the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board and chaired the US Department of Energy’s Task Force on Strategic Energy Research and Development. He is a Trustee of the Brookings Institution, on the Board of the New America Foundation, and on the Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative.

Dr. Yergin holds a BA from Yale University and a PhD from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.

Customer reviews

5 star		76%
4 star		18%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Edward L. Marker

Daniel Yergin did a wonderful piece of writing with The Prize

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2018

Verified 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.

7 people found this helpful

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George Mears

I was buying additional copies so isn't that a ringing endorsement?

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2017

Verified 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.

8 people found this helpful

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Stephen

The Quest - Recent History of Energy, Security, and Environmentalism

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2012

Verified 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.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Keith Wheelock

A Baedeker on volatlle global energy prospects

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2012

Verified Purchase

Dr, Yergin has been writing important books on important subjects for over three decades. His (with co-author Joseph A. Stanislaw) THE COMMANDING HEIGHTS: THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND THE MARKETPLACE THAT IS REMAKING THE MODERN WORLD is a magisterial on-the-spot portrayal of how state planning and public ownership of major industries was prevalent in portions of Europe and the developing world during much of the post-WW II period. He documents, in nearly a dozen countries, why this was working less and less well. Focusing on President Reagan, Prime Minister Thatcher, Hayek, Keith Joseph, and a few other key figures, Yergin illustrates how deregulation and privatization became the major economic direction of the post-Cold War period. The PBS documentary of his book vividly portrays these major systemic shifts and indicates that the world ahead for the global economy will encounter perilous straits.

Yergin, individually and thrugh the Cambridge Energy Research Associates, which he founded, has, for me, been the most authoritative voice on energy past, present, and future. In 1980 I read ENERGY FUTURE: THE REPORT OF THE ENERGY PROJECT AT THE HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL for which Dr. Yergin was the co-editor. I found it highly informative, though some of its short-term projections on oil production and price did not hold up well during the volatile 1980s. His 1991 Pulitzer Prize winning THE PRIZE: THE EPIC QUEST FOR OIL, MONEY, AND POWER is a magnificent telling of the story of petroleum from the buccaneer days to oil discoveries around the world, and to the early shenanigans in Russia and the Middle East. This pattern of contracts, exploration, exploitation, and then nationalization continues in the Middle East and elsewhere. The creation of OPEC marked a further stage in the government vs. major petroluem companies' 'game' that leads to regime changes and, on occasion, war.

THE QUEST: ENERGY, SECURITY, AND THE REMAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD starts with a detailed update of the oil world since THE PRIZE and then describes the recent massive expansion of shale natural gas, which greatly expands the availability of hydrocarbon energy over the coming generations. Then Dr. Yergin undertakes the gargantuan task of exploring:
1) Will enough energy be available to meet the needs of a growing world and at what cost and with what new technologies?
2) How can the security of the energy systems on which the world depends be protected?
3) What will be the impact of environmental concerns, including climate change, on the future of energy and how will energy development affact the environment?

Yergin has done a masterful job in presenting a detailed historical perspective on these diverse issues. Much of the expanded global demand will come from China and other non-post-industrial countries. [Chinese bought 2 million vehicles in 2000 and, within a few years, will be purchasing 30 million vehicles annually.] Yergin predicts that future oil production will plateau around midcentury,and then gradually decline. He examines in details the prospects for renewable energy sources, including wind,solar, biofuels, and hydro and concludes that renewables will not be a dominant energy source by 2030. After 2030 he speculates that greater renewable energy could come through innovation, technological advances, and massive investment.

Yergin estimates that an investment of $14 trillion to expand new electric capacity from 2012 to 2030 will be required. During this period coal, oil, and especially natural gas will provide the preponderance of energy.

He realizes that the Black Swan of the unexpected affects any attempt to predict energy needs and availability. He documents the volatility of energy prices over the past thirty years. The technology to utilize natural gas, especially with shale fracking, has greatly expanded this energy source since the 1991 publication of THE PRIZE. The Fukushima nuclear disaster has had a Three Mile Island/Chernobyl-level impact on the possibility of additional nuclear plants in much of the post-industrial world, although China is continuing at flank speed with nuclear construction. Regarding security, he underscores the political volatility present in many of the major oil-producing countries and notes that 40 percent of world oil exports pass through the Persian Gulf Strait of Hormuz, adjacent to Iran.

Another major unknown is what, if anything might be done to address the issue of 'climate change.' He provides a valuable account of how the issue of 'climate change' has waxed and waned over past generations. He clearly believes that 'climate change' will have a significant impact on our world in the coming generations. He does not seem optimistic that the developed and the developing world can reach agreement on effective measures to mitigate the likely impacts of 'climate change.'

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Adrian J. Smith

The Prize for the 21st Century!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2012

Verified Purchase

In contrast to his previous epic of energy, The Prize, Yergin's updated offering, The Quest, deals with a far more complex, and controversial matter, energy diversity and sustainability.
The Quest begins with the familiar, and all too ubiquitous, energy source, oil. Following on from The Quest, Yergin examines the new developments within the oil industry, such as the return of Russia to the scene, the resource race around the Caspian, the rise of super majors, and the impact of conflict upon the oil market, specifically the Iraq war, and the tensions with Iran.
In the following chapters, Yergin examines nuclear power, and how events such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and most recently the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan have led to a popular and political backlash against nuclear power. The variety of renewable energy sources are examined, along with carbon neutral energy sources such as bio-mass, ethanol and natural gas. An entire chapter is devoted to the impact of climate change, although this chapter is rather familiar, and somewhat one-sided.
The real strengths of The Quest are the insights given to recent developments, such as Shale Gas and the process of Fracking, and the rise of major gas powers such as Qatar. The problems such as the slowness of the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and the logistics and opposition such processes arouse may be entirely familiar to those who follow current affairs, however the strength of this work is that it is included within a comprehensive and wide ranging study.
The conclusions may be unsurprising, namely that the current outlook of the doubling of energy consumption is unsustainable under current trends, and a diversification is necessary. The main requisite, we learn, is incentives, which is demonstrated in the case of Japan, wherein the nations lack of resources has spurned diversification and energy efficiency.
Not a doomsaying or pessimistic work by any account, as a wealth of opportunity and potential is explored within its pages, pointing to a positive conclusion that energy blackout is entirely avoidable providing change is embraced.
The main strength of The Quest is that it leaves no stone unturned, and no issue neglected. What one has within these pages is perhaps the widest, most inclusive, and comprehensive study of the modern world of energy, which is essential reading for all, regardless of ones familiarity with the subject.

5 people found this helpful

Serghiou Const

A majestic all encompassing book on energy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2013

Verified Purchase

The book is an epic saga magnificently written on the broad spectrum of energy which underpins our modern technological civilization. The book is both authoritative and riveting. The reader has constantly the feeling that the author views from a high vantage and privileged point the unfolding global panorama of energy with all its protagonists, antagonisms, geopolitics, technological evolution, the huge energy sources in the Middle East - one quarter of global oil is located in the Persian Gulf - the struggle for the Caspian sea oil, the natural gas in Qatar, the Sands oil in Canada, and Shale gas in USA. The dominance of coal, and oil, and subsequently of natural gas. The concern for climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions and as a result the quest for clean energy and the rush to renewable s like solar, wind and bio fuels.

There are also many individual stories and protagonists magnificently related such as the natural monopoly in the form of the vertically integrated utility which combined generation, transmission, and distribution within the borders of a single company invented by Samuel Insull or the mega merges that unfolded between 1998 and 2002 representing the largest and most significant remaking of the structure of the international oil industry since 1911. Or major scientific breakthroughs such as the catalytic converter, which assured a thorough burn of the gasoline and thus much reduced smog-inducing emissions. By the end of the 1990s, the smog -causing emissions coming out of the tailpipe of a new car were only 1 percent of what they had been in the 1970s; 99 percent had been eliminated.

And finally there are projections for the future: the cost for building the new electricity capacity the doubling of growth between 2011 and 2030 is currently estimated at $14 trillion- and rising. But that expansion is what will be required to support what could be $130 trillion economy compared to $65 trillion in 2011. And what degree can such an economy, which depends presently on carbon fuels for 80 percent of its energy,move to other diverse energy source? the answers are far from obvious.

One person found this helpful

NIOLAMB

THE CONTINUATION OF "THE PRIZE"

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2013

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed this book. It is not as dramatic and thriller-like as The Prize, but it is an excellent big picture of the energy industry in the last twenty-two years. I highly recommend to read The Prize first and then read this book.

One of the many things I liked is the fact that fossil fuels are not the only options available, i.e. there are alternatives to fossil fuels and they are coming, not as quickly as we would like but they will evolve and become the norm in the future. That is one of the many conclusions that can be drawn from this wonderful book. The fact that a good part of the book is dedicated to these technologies is the best example of the aforementioned. The consequences are starting to be evident. Look in the World Bank web site [...] at the electricity consumption of the USA in the last three years versus the GDP. Although GDP has grown the electricity consumption has not. This is mainly due to energy efficiency, one of the topics mentioned in the book. Last year in the USA the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) set the standards for increasing the fuel efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks to 54.5mpg by Model Year 2025, again energy efficiency. All in all we can get a pretty good picture of the energy industry now and the possible trends in the future.

This book does not tell you what the next main sources of energy will be, as the author is not an oracle, he left the door open to many possibilities and I agree with that as throughout history the business of predicting what the next "big thing" will be has been pretty awful. I particularly think there will be a mix of energy sources depending of the resources available in each region and electricity will significantly reduce the use fossil fuels for transport and mobility as it did many years ago with the lighting. There may be technologies that we do not even know now and that have not even been invented. I totally agree with what Mr. Ahmed Zaki Yamani said: "the Stone Age came to and end not for lack of stones, and the oil age will end, but no for a lack of oil." And as Mr. Bjorn Lomborg said in his book "The Skeptical Environmentalist": "We stopped using stones because bronze and iron were superior materials, and likewise we will stop using oil, when other energy technologies provide superior benefits." Just to finalise this point, the main use of oil when the first well gushed in Titusville in 1859, was for lighting purposes. I am 100% sure that few people think nowadays of using kerosene for lighting, unless they are camping in the wild and even so I have got my doubts.

The oil industry has done a magnificent job in innovating and creating technologies to make the upstream and downstream oil/gas possible in places that thirty years ago were impossible, and that is also mentioned in this book. Likewise all the usual geopolitics involved in the energy industry as well as the rise of China, India, Brazil and other emerging economies that are reshaping the demand for energy. Climate change is also mentioned in a way easy to understand and mainly in a way that shows how it affects us all. I was well impressed by how the author linked the scientific breakthroughs and inventions to the energy industry, as they were the foundations of many international companies such as General Electric, Siemens, Westinghouse, First Solar, Ford, Suntech, Vestas, etc. From Thomas Edison to General Electric and Siemens, from Albert Einstein to SolarTech/Q-Cells/Suntech and so on.

All in all a great book to read if you are seriously interested in the energy industry. I said seriously, because there are a lot of pages to be read... well, if you read The Prize you will read The Quest without any problem.

John G

Informative, Valuable, Interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

Everyone should read this book - politicians would learn from it, ordinary citizens would benefit from the information it contains, shareholders and market players would better understand the energy market and its ups and downs, and the world would be a better place for such knowledge being shared and understood. Another superb book by Daniel Yergin, not quite as good as his unbeatable 'The Prize' but only marginally behind. Highly recommended.

Marios

Very nice book. Recommend it.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

Firstly, i would like to say that the book arrived relatively early. As for the substantive part i have only one thing to mention, OUTSTANDING. Throughly explainable regarding energy security around the world. It gives a lot of examples and provides you the necessary theoretical background so as to deepen your understanding regarding the issues that are addressed throughout the book. Recommend it for every student, academic and every one who interested in learning about enrgy security and how it would be transform in the modern era. RECOMMEND IT.

Thank you.

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