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Michael T. Klare
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The Race for What's Left: The Global Scramble for the World's Last Resources Hardcover – March 13, 2012

by Michael Klare (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 88 ratings
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From Michael Klare, the renowned expert on natural resource issues, an invaluable account of a new and dangerous global competition

The world is facing an unprecedented crisis of resource depletion―a crisis that goes beyond "peak oil" to encompass shortages of coal and uranium, copper and lithium, water and arable land. With all of the planet's easily accessible resource deposits rapidly approaching exhaustion, the desperate hunt for supplies has become a frenzy of extreme exploration, as governments and corporations rush to stake their claim in areas previously considered too dangerous and remote. The Race for What's Left takes us from the Arctic to war zones to deep ocean floors, from a Russian submarine planting the country's flag on the North Pole seabed to the large-scale buying up of African farmland by Saudi Arabia, China, and other food-importing nations.

As Klare explains, this invasion of the final frontiers carries grave consequences. With resource extraction growing more complex, the environmental risks are becoming increasingly severe; the Deepwater Horizon disaster is only a preview of the dangers to come. At the same time, the intense search for dwindling supplies is igniting new border disputes, raising the likelihood of military confrontation. Inevitably, if the scouring of the globe continues on its present path, many key resources that modern industry relies upon will disappear completely. The only way out, Klare argues, is to alter our consumption patterns altogether―a crucial task that will be the greatest challenge of the coming century.

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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Metropolitan Books
  4. Publication date
    March 13, 2012
  5. Dimensions
    6.49 x 1.14 x 9.54 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0805091262
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0805091267
  8. See all details
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4.2 out of 5 stars
88 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-researched and a worthwhile read for understanding natural resource issues. However, some feel the thesis is repetitive and some chapters are too long. Overall, it provides a good overview but is not the definitive work on the subject.

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23 customers mention "Readability"23 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-researched and informative. They describe it as an accessible, insightful read that provides a comprehensive overview of the issue. The analysis is factual and concise, though some readers feel the author overestimates the dangers of conflict.

"...in a rather easy to read textbook style, and very clealy depicts the necessary projections from our current dependance on non-renewable resources." Read more

"...I gave "Race for What's Left" four stars. It is an accessible, well-researched and timely intervention into the world public sphere...." Read more

"Klare’s research is very thorough and written in a relatable manner! Finished the book quicky, and did not want to put it down...." Read more

"Excellent book! Want to know why Russia invaded Crimea?..." Read more

3 customers mention "Length"0 positive3 negative

Customers find the book too long. They mention the thesis is repetitive and some chapters are very long and boring. Overall, they say it's a great overview but not the definitive work on the subject.

"...I deducted a star because it is not the definitive work on the subject, although I should state that Klare clearly did not mean it to be such." Read more

"...Some chapters were extremely interesting. Some chapters were very long and boring. Over all it was a great overview" Read more

"The thesis is repetitive and quite possibly incorrect...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Robert S Bogner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and Informative
    Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Well worth your time and money. Michael Klare clearly describes hhow the earth's ever decreasing non-renewable resources , combined with the ever increasing demand for them, will contribute to an expensive and frantic "Race for What's Left." He exapnds on three components of this race; energy,minerals,and agriculture (the section concerning agriculture is especially absorbing). He then describes how this may eventually lead to armed conflicts, and will eventually lead to the switch to renewables.
    The book is written in a rather easy to read textbook style, and very clealy depicts the necessary projections from our current dependance on non-renewable resources.
    57 people found this helpful
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  • Stephen Zielinski
    4.0 out of 5 stars Our race to oblivion
    Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    The prolific Michael Klare has produced another book -- "The Race for What's Left" -- addressing the dangers we will face in the coming years, dangers which express our strong dependence on the earth and its material abundance along with our inability to create global political institutions which secure peace and prosperity. It is worthy read as are Klare's previous books on this subject. In his latest, he addresses a few simple theses:

    1. The demand for natural resources will continue to grow
    2. The supply of these resources will continue to shrink
    3. The search for new sources of hydrocarbons, common and uncommon minerals, water and arable land will intensify over time and likely will generate resources wars.

    In a nutshell, we are now passing from an "easy-resource world" to a "hard-resource world." This claim encapsulates a few disturbing facts: Existing oil wells no longer produce at the rate they once had and once productive mines have become stingy. These key resources have peaked or will peak soon, and this fact will drive commerce in the future. More importantly, fallow and potentially productive farm land has become scarce in various locales due to overuse, desertification, urbanization and other destructive forms of consumption. We can expect food shortages to intensify as time passes. Furthermore, increasing demand will augment this `natural' scarcity. Brazil, Russia, India and China are industrializing (or reindustrializing in Russia's case). Other countries have also taken off. Many are trying to develop their productive capacity and their natural resources. The industries in many of these countries are now competitive in the global market and will consume a growing share of the planet's raw goods. They will produce finished or near-to-finished goods, some of which will be shipped abroad and some of which will supply their local `haves' with the commodities of a `modern' consumer culture. Consumer demand, the system of production it drives and the quest for profits will thus continuously diminish the quantity of available raw materials. These goods are finite in number and, in some cases, lack an adequate substitute. Impelled by local and global demand as well as by the scarcity of the materials needed to compete, countries and firms will intensify their search for new sources of these increasingly scarce resources. Finding and using these goods will be neither easy nor cheap. We can expect competition for these resources to be intense.

    This, therefore, is the race for what's left: We have consumed so much of the planet's resources that we can only renew our supply of these materials by finding new sources, mostly in inhospitable locales. We can also expect these new sources to be either less productive than the sources they replace or made to produce only with more effort, greater risks and higher costs. Arctic drilling and mining provide the exemplary cases of this problem. They are not the only cases, however. Worst of all, the race for what's left can never end given the nature of a modern and global economic system. Resource use today necessarily generates the scarcity of tomorrow.

    Klare, oddly enough, gives little attention to one resource now in decline: An environment fit for human habitation. Global warming can and will likely become a species threat. Industrial waste befouls the land, water and atmosphere. A proud humankind may not survive the externalities generated by its supposed achievements. Of course, the global warming catastrophe has already begun, and the task humans must complete to survive goes well beyond taking measures that will ensure we avoid that dire situation. There is no magic bullet solution to this situation. The task instead requires pulling on the brake handle before it becomes too late to save ourselves and the world we have long inhabited.

    It may have been inevitable that "The Race for What's Left' will not inspire hope for the future. The race is driven by the need to conserve the industrial method of production, techniques and resource usage which cause global warming and resource depletion. The sense I got from reading Klare's book is that we can expect national states to seek to secure the resources they need before it is too late to do so, too late to keep pace in a increasingly ruthless world economic system. Capitalist firms, on the other hand, will continue to seek out profitable uses for their technological capabilities and, of course, their property in general. The fortunate ones may take superprofits from their efforts, using resource scarcity to extract rents from the consumers of their goods. The stakes for these firms are very high and will increase in the future since countries and firms that fail to compete in the emerging markets can end in social disintegration, subjugation and bankruptcy because of their failure. Path dependent development entails confronting a socio-political rigidity that can prove fatal. Why fatal? At present, the world devotes little to the effort to pull on the brake handle, to radically alter the direction of material progress. Rather, it devotes treasure and blood reproducing the disaster.

    The situation grows increasingly dire, and hopes for the future depend upon the human capacity for reasonable thought and action as well as for generating solidarity among humanity's diverse parts. In this situation -- yoked as we are to techniques and social forms which cannot sustain themselves -- gaining hope for the future entails confronting the hopelessness of our very modern predicament.

    I gave "Race for What's Left" four stars. It is an accessible, well-researched and timely intervention into the world public sphere. I deducted a star because it is not the definitive work on the subject, although I should state that Klare clearly did not mean it to be such.
    23 people found this helpful
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  • Corey Gonzales
    5.0 out of 5 stars Most interesting book on this topic
    Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Klare’s research is very thorough and written in a relatable manner! Finished the book quicky, and did not want to put it down. Not an often do you find a book in this topic without being extremely dry! I recommend to anyone interested in International resource competition.
    One person found this helpful
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  • jtc
    3.0 out of 5 stars A race we all lose
    Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    The book is a quick read. If you follow the business press everyday as I do, I wouldn't recommend this book as it is a compilation of current events over the last few years. The author itemizes the world's remaining strategic natural resources and the potential for national conflict due to their location, especially oil, his worst case scenario. He successfully makes the case for peak oil. The need to replace depleting world reserves is leading to expensive and dangerous exploration, whether the search is around the Arctic Ocean or in the South China Sea.

    The author's conclusion is bleak with a ray of light. A combination of technology and behavior change is direly needed. The twist is the fact that the technology necessary to save us is dependent on those very same scarce resources he warns us about in his book.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • db
    5.0 out of 5 stars SAD but true
    Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2023
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    Itemized list of why there are too many of us
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  • Mike at the solar home
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, MUST Read for All
    Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This is so critical it affects all but the very oldest in world society. Scarcity with many things will be hitting at various times starting very soon. Tipping points of unstoppable ecological effects are within 11 years or less. Overpopulation has ruined the planet with depletion, pollution, greed, and stupidity, and most of the deadly sins with the horsemen riding faster and faster. It is sick and sad, but all too true.
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  • Antonio Morais
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for everyone who wants to understand mankind.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Need to understand the mad rush to non renewable resources. A must read for everyone who wants to understand where, and why, the power sources are acting over the planet and mankind.
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  • TaugenX
    3.0 out of 5 stars Hervorragendes Buch über die Situation unserer Ressourcen
    Reviewed in Germany on March 14, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Es ist sehr schön einmal eine Zusammenfassung der Situation zu lesen, wie viel denn noch wo steckt. Und zwar so, dass ein normaler Mensch das auch versteht.
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  • Fwm Van Steenbergen
    3.0 out of 5 stars Important story
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 10, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This books tells a very important story - the depletion of many global resources. Its strength is the large number of issues and examples it brings together - not only oil/gas but also minerals, commodities and land. Where the book is relatively weak is in the quantitative overviews. But a very important book nonetheless.
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  • Burak Giray
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 3, 2015
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    Thank you!
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  • David
    2.0 out of 5 stars You wait for him to get to the point, then the book ends
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Let me sum up the content in a few words. We're running out of fossil fuels and agricultural land due to the world's large and growing population. The remaining fossil fuels are frequently difficult and/or expensive to extract. Most of the book repeats this point over and over, giving different examples to say the same thing.

    Then there's about four pages where he offers his 'solution': renewable energy.

    At this point there is still quarter of the book left to read, and you are expecting him to put some meat on the bones of the framework he has laid out for the reader. Surely now the book will really get interesting. Where is all this going to lead? What is the future for mankind? But no! The book ends there. Fully a quarter of the book, the final 70 pages are taken up with notes and references.

    He has spent the whole book telling us we can't carry on growing our population and consuming all the resources, because eventually we'll run out of not only energy, but also something even more critical and which certainly cannot be replaced with renewable resources: agricultural land (and living space). But he never once considers that the problem is caused by there being too many people, and the solution isn't merely to switch to renewable energy sources (although undoubtedly, a not only desirable step but one which we will eventually have no choice about), but to control our numbers! Should we grasp the nettle and do it now, when it would be challenging but doable, gradually, over time? Or should we wait for nature to enforce harsh limits on our numbers by one day finding that the planet can't produce enough food for 10 or 12 or 15 billion people? But he never asks this question, nor offers any solutions, commentary or analysis.

    The book quickly becomes monotonous, offers no particular insight and I did not find it of much value.
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