The Quest

A must read if you want to understand how energy is the key driver behind international relations and world economy. The manner in which the author has connected sporadic incidents across the globe and created the whole canvas is simply amazing.

The book covers every aspect of energy economics and history. Very good read for someone who has a keen interest where the energy sector is heading. Its well researched and articulated.

First of the length and font of the book is really scary, however when you start reading you won't be able to put it down. The way it is written is commendable as the theme energy can be boring and repetitive. I landed with this book not out of my curiosity for Oil and Gas, I chose The Prize first, but the length and font of that book scared me like hell. So, I thought to start with The Quest. And I am happy I made that choice. This book should be in everybody's library who want to know about the inception of energy, climate and way forward. Go ahead, you won't be disappointed as Daniel Yergin is the best in Energy. No matter how many books you read on energy you will always love Daniel's writing.

This book is a beast . loads of content, and its going to be a heavy read for casual readers . I just loved it . Amazing. Economists and industrialists, its a must have along with his fascinating intro - the price

Good

Unknown stories of lust for Power.The fight for fuel, effect and affect of Globalization on Modern World. Good book, worth reading.

Very good book, probably the best in the geopolitics of energy but the book packing wasn't good. The cover page had dirt and wasn't clean.

Daniel Yergin meticulously researched book is a pleasure to read and a treasure trove of useful information. Dr. Yergin weaves together a compelling narrative on the existing energy scenario in this world. Every page of his well written book draws from history, science, energy geopolitics, and technology to give the reader a nuanced understanding of how energy landscape has evolved and has shaped our modern world. Even though the amount of details in the book might seem encyclopaedic, it is fun to read. Strongly recommended!!

The Quest is a must read to understand the modern day energy complex. The breadth of topics is remarkable and after reading it one comes out with a strong appreciation of the politics, history and economics of energy. The book is quite long and is split into 6 parts each focusing on a different topic but the book comes together extremely well and one feels like they have had a comprehensive overview by the end. The author starts with the fall of the soviet union and how, among other things, low oil prices was a cause of economic strain given Russia's dependence on oil exports for foreign currency. The author describes the geology and political landscape of eastern Russia and the oil resources of the various former soviet states. The author discusses things like the petro state and discusses how Venezuela came to where it is today. The author discusses the Iraq war and the oil politics of the 90s and how the Asian crisis catalyzed consolidation in the global petro space as oil price collapse combined with growing engineering complexity required larger petro companies. The author then discusses how a decade later China growth changed the trajectory of demand substantially while supply remained relatively inelastic. In reading the first section one gets a sense of how the supply and demand side of oil have formed through time. The author moves on then to the challenges of dealing with inelastic supply with growing demand. The scramble for oil resources was a real concern as resources seemed to be depleting while new oil supplies were becoming harder and harder to come by. The author discusses the growth of gas states like Qatar which was relatively unknown and came to be an extremely important energy player as it developed its gas field and became a huge LNG exporter. The author discusses how natural gas has become a major ingredient in power generation due to the cheap cost of turbine construction as well as relatively low emission content. The author then discusses electricity and its history. He details things like the battle between Edisons DC and Tesla's AC adopted by Westinghouse. The history is really interesting and the author then discusses the growth of electricity demand and how the Nuclear reactor became a strong candidate for electricity supply. The author goes through the uranium purification process and how different purities of uranium isotopes lead to different chain reactions. The author also discusses climate change and the carbon imprint of mankind. He discusses the history of the scientific investigation of the carbon cycle and is always careful to properly give the reader the background on how the fields evolved. The author then discusses last century and how the growing appreciation of the potential for climate change and how greenhouse gases could impact the ecosystem became a key political issue. The author discusses Rio and Kyoto for example and discusses different economic solutions considered for dealing with emissions. In particular cap and trade is discussed for SO2 and carbon taxes as well. The author gives the reader some economic theory and in particular Coase's insight that cap and trade is more economically efficient than taxation. The author discusses the challenges at the global level in which domestic politics prevent global solutions and apportioning blame is difficult given the legacy issues of carbon emissions being almost solely from developed markets. The author then gives the reader and overview of the renewable space. The author discusses wind and solar and how the photo electric effect that Einstein won the Nobel prize for is at the heart of the photovoltaic effect needed for solar panels. The engineering history of solar is given as well as an understanding of how uncompetitive it was compared to regularly generated electricity. The author then gets in to how energy efficiency is an incredibly important part of the puzzle and regulatory standards over time have substantially improved our energy efficiency in things like autos. The author then moves on to discussing the new age of electric vehicles. Which as the author highlights isn't so new and was an idea that goes back over 100 years. The author gives the background of the combustion engine and the growth of the US and European auto businesses. One learns of how the current auto landscape came to be and the new directions it is taking with companies like Tesla leading the charge in EV's. The author also notes the change in user demand from light trucks to the prius and now to EVs as gas and politics have evolved. The quest is a great read as one gets an overview of so much of the energy landscape and all of the demand factors and supply factors and competing interests. Through reading it one gets a sense of the directions we might take in the future, the complexity of all of the driving factors and the lack of singular solutions to the growing need of more electricity pitted against the concerns for the environment. Its very enjoyable to read and informative throughout, Highly recommended

Cómo todo lo de Yerguin maravilloso. Lectura obligada para entender el mundo de la energía.

Having read The Prize - a critical and informative history of the development of the oil industry - I became aware of The Quest a few years ago and am sorry I delayed reading it. Daniel Yergin effectively analyzes the evolution of energy needs, consumption needs and lifestyle choices that are confronting all of us as citizens of the world and the overarching impact of global economies and geo-political issues. The Quest presents an informed and dispassionate view that will enable readers to better understand and engage in the inevitable discussions that will ensue around the dinner table or in the boardroom.

Alles gut

With his "the Price" Daniel took us into the hsytory of mankind in the last 2 centuries, from the Oil Point of view till 1990. Here he goes on till 2012 ( Fukushima is in this book...) expanding the perspective to all the forms of Energy: from Electricity to Renewables. For someone like me who lived these past 20 years inside the Energy industry, is like to read a personal diary, with many of the facts well laid down in a perfect frame. A must read if you want to unsderstand the "energy" world, and its arrival at a crucial point of change and new perspectives in these very last months. Furthermore, from an Italian point of view, this book gives also a clear explanation why the Italan industry has gone in ruine, why the innovation path has been lost, and why in the next years also the SME compart will gone.