Details
Rent Coal: A Human History
Author:
Narrator: Shelly Frasier
Format: Unabridged-CD
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: Jan 2005
Genre: Science - Earth Sciences - Geology
Retail Price: $78.00
Discs: 7
Synopsis
RunTime: 7 hrs 37 min, 7 CDs. The fascinating, often surprising story of how a simple black rock has altered the course of history. Prized as 'the best stone in Britain' by Roman invaders who carved jewelry out of it, coal has transformed societies, powered navies, fueled economies, and expanded frontiers. It made China a twelfth-century superpower, inspired the writing of the Communist Manifesto, and helped the northern states win the American Civil War.
Reviews
Much of this book is an anti-coal environmentalist sermon. The history rarely rises above the level of a high school survey course text book. The author displays little knowledge of the technology, chemistry, mineralology, or economics of coal. Her research does not extend beyond England and the US. She infuses a lot of personal opinion and takes the obligatory cheap shots at Republican Presidents. This is a narrow, shallow, and disappointing book. It could have beens titled, Why I Hate Sulfur Dioxide. Who doesn't?