Rating: 
Summary: Reach exceeds grasp.
Review: This book attempts a grand scope: to illuminate the energy supply and demand forces, analyze their effects long-term, and offer solutions for minimizing the negative impact. Unfortunately, there are far too many instances where statements are made that are unsupported by the evidence presented. Another 100 pages or so were needed to fully make an attempt that all of these assumptions are valid.In spite of that major shortcoming, the author succeeds where it
counts: chapter 3 hits the mark by identifying the oil(energy)
supply limitations and why an impending shortage is at near-term.
This discussion correctly and carefully outlines several prominent analysts from BOTH SIDES of this debate. Chapter 4 attempts to explain why alternative energy sources will
come up short, for cost and other reasons. Chapter 5 discusses
the complexities of the domestic and international economic and
political realities, and why the result will grow into a dramatic
change for all societies dependent on abundant cheap energy.
In the end, the case was made - and clearly. Most unfortunately, however, the author engaged in some political
attacks that were directed mostly at the Bush family. Some of
this liberal rant is borderline slander. The Author should have
simply stated the facts of the impending oil shortage - they are
powerful. But he just couln't resist the opportunity to smear
the people and political views of those that he disagrees with.
As a result, my copy has many of my margin notes such as "rubbish", "slander", "no evidence", "lacks support", "baseless accusation", and even "outrageous lies". The leftist point of view is the fabric of this entire book. The rest of this book is OK, but not very imformative. Again, many statements are left without support.
Rating: 
Summary: must read
Review: This book brings to the forefront something that we all knew was bound to happen...the end of oil. Heinberg does an excellent job of relating energy to our lives and of showing that there is no good alternative to oil. This book should spawn further research and action in others as it has done with me.
Rating:
Summary: The Gluttonest Generation
Review: This book is important and disturbing. The author tries to remain fair, and for the most part succeeds. The problem of oil depletion has been debated for quite sometime, but it certainly seems to me that we're now experiencing the effects. The book is most useful in that it does a good job framing the problem, the debate, and what our alternatives are. Why I find this disturbing is I don't believe Americans have the will to seriously confront the issue of oil depletion.
Rating:
Summary: The Party's Over
Review: This book provides an excellent description of the energy situation on present-day Earth, and I recommend it to anyone who wants an up-to-date, comprehensive, and easy-to-read assessment. It discusses the dependence of modern industrial society on energy in general and oil in particular, and conjectures what will happen over the next half-century as global oil reserves exhaust. While I do not agree with Heinberg's approach to dealing with the decline of oil, or with his predictions of what the social and political outcomes of this decline will be, his book will likely perform a useful service in making the general public more aware of the nature and imminence of the end of the petroleum age and the industrial age.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely vital information to US voters
Review: This is the most elegant book yet written to summarize work by others on the upcoming powerdown as the peak rate of oil depletion is reached. With impressive economy, the author summarizes: ecological insights into overshoot of carrying capacity (mostly from Catton's Overshoot), the collapse of complex societies (Tainter), the important observation that the constraints leading to peak extraction result from the decreasing "energy profit" of this futile treadmill (mostly from Gever et al's Beyond Oil), and that US natural gas extraction is probably at peak now with acute shortages and price jumps just ahead (no book yet on this unexpected development). The author looks at other energy sources, noting e.g. the low profit of US coal, waste issues with nuclear power, and the controversial energy profit ratio of solar PV. He is rightly dismissive that most of these can be scaled to replace the many uses of declining oil, but his points are often superficial and easily rebutted by expert proponents of technical fixes (e.g. Megawatts & Magatons for nuclear fission). He is very good on the comprehensive impact of oil depletion. His discussion of fusion is outdated: Inertial Fusion Energy may be poised for a breakthrough in the next decade. He finishes with a watered down list of "things you can do" to prepare your community and your family for powerdown. Based on energy consumption, the best bet is to live where a car is unnecessary. He says "learn to grow your own food", but you'll need to read elsewhere how hard that is. There is nothing on energy efficiency and passive solar housing. This last section is written with more optimism than the rest of the book, much as Deffeyes did in his Hubbert's Peak. Presumably, this is to avoid a "survivalist" viewpoint. Overall, this book is not going to change skeptical minds because it is devoid of numerical arguments that, e.g. would show how small the over-hyped "hydrogen economy" will be. But it will get them to think and to explore online where the supporting evidence is overwhelming. I won't bother sending a copy to NC's presidential aspirant Sen. Edwards because powerdown cannot be adopted as a successful political agenda; too many blowhards. There has to be a grass-roots shift off the consumer treadmill to crash the unsustainable, "limitless" global economy. The author echoes Klare's Resource Wars, making it clear that the sooner we recognize the resource basis for global turmoil, the better the slim odds that we won't pursue endless wars against "terrorists" who just happen to live atop the fuels we crave.
Rating:
Summary: Clear and Thoughtful Critique
Review: This review of the past, present, and future roles of energy in the state of the world is remarkably clear in its presentation of the facts. While not afraid to go into some fine detail, Mr. Heinberg keeps the general topography of the situation well in view. The grim conclusions to which he arrives seem well justified by the facts he has marshalled. Even if you remain unconvinced, his insights (and his bibliography) equip one well for further research as well as for reflection on current events.
Rating:
Summary: Up The Creek Without A Paddle!
Review: This volume begins with a discussion of what energy is and how it has been used to develop our industrial way of life. Brief histories of wood, coal, and oil use are also included. Much of this book centers around the amounts of oil, coal, and natural gas remaining to be harnessed in the future, with several experts giving their predictions for the peak production of the world production of oil, not far away by most accounts. The United States had it's oil production peak in 1970 (predicted in 1956 by M. King Hubbert) and has been in decline since, with a slight temporary increase in the 1980's due to Alaskan oil. As Richard Heinberg emphasizes continually in this book, the decline in world oil production seems imminent, along with the ensuing decline in national industrial economies which rely on oil, the United States being by far the biggest example. Per capita energy use by Americans is five times the world average, Heinberg writes, and he makes it abundantly clear that this waste and extravagance cannot continue much longer, and no number of Iraqi type excursions will make a difference. Heinberg writes that this decline of energy availability and use can be achieved peacefully with individual countries cooperating with each other, or violently with nations squabbling over the remaining oil. However, one thing stands out very clearly now, back in the 1970's during the initial problems with energy shortages due to the Arab oil embargo, it should have been a wake-up call to our leaders to develop sustainable energy sources then, it was not done, our short-sighted leaders failed us. But as Heinberg says, corporate leaders are also at fault, with their massive self-interest at risk, they could make less money if the country shifted more to alternate energy sources, and their lobby is very strong on Capital Hill in Washinton, D.C.. If that alternate energy program was began on a massive scale in the 1970's we would probably be in much better shape now, in terms of our energy future, but as Heinberg states in this book, at this late stage our options are limited. The massive industrial military machine the United States has is given attention here also, as Heinberg writes, this massive allocation of resources can and should be directed to more pressing concerns, the citizens of the United States do not need a military budget that equals the rest of the world combined (we are'nt going to fight the Soviets, that is now clear). This volume also covers alternate energy sources today, and what they can do to help us in the future, again, as Heinberg says, we have began with too little and too late to prevent a collapse of our industrial way of life. How large of a collapse will it be? No one is certain. Heinberg also touches on the subject of overpopulation and immigration. Did you know that approximately 90% of the population growth in the United States over the next 50 years will be due to immigration? This is an area that has been neglected, and as Heinberg says, it is politically sensitive and politicians rarely stick their necks out in areas such as this. Also, in terms of overpopulation, have we, due to the use of oil in creating a large world food supply, exceeded the carrying capacity of the planet? This is another area Heinberg writes much about. Heinberg envisions, after the world oil supply peaks and begins it's inevitable decline, a slower paced, more idyllic lifestyle, and as he says, probably a more agreeable one, at that, to most people.
Rating:
Summary: A chilling view of the future
Review: We are running out of oil. No great revelation. It is a finite resource. Duh. What might not be as obvious is how soon and how dramatic this promises to happen and how profound consequences might be. "The Party's Over" is a slap in the face. While admittedly alarmist and at times overtly political, Heinberg outlines where we are, how we got here and what, if anything, we can do. As Heinberg outlines and explains, virtually everything we do and have and eat and know exists at least in part due to the fantastic energy content of petroleum. It fuels our car, transports our food and goods, gives rise to our material, powers our industry, fertilizes our crops, lubricates our machines, pumps our water ... it boggles the mind. The incredible technology and population explosions of last century were powered, literally and figuratively, by "black gold". Within 10 years the world supply of oil will start decreasing, never to rise again. Ever. Nothing can quite replace oil. Solar and wind power are good, but not as effective as oil and can't power tranportation, and don't enjoy the huge sudsides industry oil has. Hydrogen fuel cells are little more than batteries, an energy carrier not not an energy source. Coal and nuclear have serious environmental problems and are also no good for transportation. You may debate what life will be like in 20 or 30 years. Heinberg paints a possible picture of darkness and chaos, a world of misery, massively overpopulated, starving, increasingly immobile. Maybe. He also leaves the door open for a softer, managed landing. While the limits of petroleum are absolute and hard and the life and world we know today simply cannot survive, ther are things we can do. Heinberg outlines a few strategies, though somewhat dishearteningly, he keeps this part vague. "The Party's Over" lack much of the numbers and analysis authors such as Campbell, Dreyffus, and Hubbert use, concentrating more on historical analysis and qualitative discussions. You may view this as more "fluffy" or unscientific, but it holds it's own power. This book is anything but dry and left me shocked and profoundly staggered, much more so than other books on the subject. Highly recommended. Please read. This subect is extremely important.
Rating: 
Summary: informative, but boring and biased
Review: While I was home this summer I was able to engage in an activity I hadn't done for some time since coming to college: driving my car. With that came something else I hadn't done in just as long: filling up my car with gas. And this summer, at $2.25 per gallon, this was not an expense I had missed while I was at school. I also remember at one point this same summer reading about how oil had just topped over $40 per barrel and if this trend continued it could pose a major risk to the economy. It's now October, I'm back at school and I no longer have to consider gas money into my budget, which is a good thing seeing as oil has gone up to $54 per barrel. In light of all of this, and not to mention the upcoming presidential election, I thought Richard Heinberg's The Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies would be a very fitting book to read. In a sense, I was right; the main point of this book is to tell how not only we have developed a whole, powerful society mainly thanks to petroleum, but also the path we are headed down and the consequences we could face if we deplete this resource. In another sense however, I could've been just as happy having not read this book; the message is there, but how it is presented in the writing,, especially in parts where he offers up solutions, is overall dry, biased, and at times even absurd.
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