author : Michael E. Wysession

This is the course guidebook that accompanies the 24 lecture “Great Course” of the same name. It is essentially an abbreviated transcript of each lecture, a few pictures, and some related reading. (I watched the lectures, which is what I am reviewing here, and am using the book simply as an aide-memoire.)

This is more the technology of energy resources, than the science of energy as such. It is a fascinating overview of the kinds of energy we use (heat, electricity, chemical energy) and how they are produced (food and biofuels, power stations using coal, gas, and nuclear energy, petroleum, solar and wind energy, and more) and stored. Wysession discusses the need for renewable energy, its advantages and limitations, economic and political issues, and the future of energy resourses in a balanced way.