****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Sometime 2006/7 I remember having a profound feeling that things were off course but had very little understanding of the way civilization truly functioned as a whole system. I ignored it, caught up in the "infinite growth game". I was paid good money in the financial sector and it would always be that way. 2008 was the very first of the "Peak Oil" warning shots across the bow of civilization. Not only have most people ignored it, the powers that be have systematically attempted to decieve, pretend and extend whilst all the time disrespecting the universal laws of nature. It's beyond comprehension and both Kjell and Colin were on to it long ago. Our leaders are delusional if not outright psychotic. We can't lay the blame squarely at their feet however, for are they not just a reflection of society as a whole? It's safe to say most people simply will not accept the truth and mass delusion as we know can quickly turn into mass psychosis, a more sinister illness.As for the book, all I can say is this; Kjell Aleklett and Colin Campbell have to go down as two exceptionally brave men. They really are inspiring leaders. They have dared to speak the truth. I for one will make attempts to change my life and do the best I can to live more sustainably. We are part of this planet not seperate from it. What we do to the planet we do to ourselves. 7 billion souls and rising mortgaged off the back of cheap oil and now it's time to pay.The level of scientific detail and analysis is astounding. The painstaking research undertaken is exemplary as is the explanation of complex connected energy systems delievered in simple form. So much so that most if not all other global institutions, have tuned into the scientifically detailed "peer reviewed" work undertaken by these scientists. The IEA, the EIA, WTO, OECD, CIA, Pentagon, MUST, MI5/6 and a list of other alphabet soup of global agencies. I'm grateful to science for giving us logic, reason and rationality. I am now forewarned and therefore forearmed and this is empowering. Giving me power therefore gives me optimism and frees me from delusions of grandeur. The exact effect these two men wish to have on the world.Once you start reading, you will not stop. You wont have to wait for decades to see whether these men are speaking the truth, try months. The greatest powerdown in history could only be a matter of months away.As much as I'd like to believe we have an abundant amount of energy to power us through for centuries I suspect it's simply not the case and the case presented is compelling.