In this adventurous, jargon free, optimistic book, Amanda Little - tipped as 'the new voice of green' by Robert Redford - reveals the gargantuan influence of oil on our daily lives. It fights our wars, grows our crops, produces our plastics and medicines, warms our homes and animates our cities. We've allowed it to seep into every facet of our existence, from the shine on glossy magazine covers to life-saving pharmaceuticals. We depend on it completely. So what does this mean for when the oil runs out? From a deep-sea oil rig to a plastic surgery operating theatre, from New York City's electrical grid to the offices of the Pentagon, from a state-of-the-art wind farm to a testing ground for the cars of tomorrow, Little visits the most eccentric and exciting frontiers of the global energy landscape. As she introduces us to a range of characters - Saudi royalty, grassroots activists, the world's most respected politicians and an array of inventors - she argues that we are on the brink of a revolution in the way we source the energy that is so vital to us; there is an energy future beyond oil - as long as we have the courage and creativity to pursue it.
