Rating: 
Summary: Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark
Review: If you are looking for a relentlessly optimistic market-oriented analysis of the energy future, this is the book for you. It is well-written, entertaining, and informative. If, however, you are looking for a well-reasoned resonse to the arguments of Kenneth Deffeyes, Hubbert's Peak, David Goodstein's, Out of Gas, or Richard Heinberg's, The Party's Over, you will be disappointed. Vaitheeswaran never addresses their arguments. Rather, he dismisses them without so much as a by your leave. For example his analysis of the question as to whether we are facing an age of sharply increasing energy costs due ever decreassing rates of recovery of fossil fuels consists of a series of quotes from the optimists. His conclusion? Don't worry, be happy! Happily, or unhappily, the next ten years will tell us whether we should have heeded the "Chicken Littles." Unfortunately, if they are right it will be too late. In fact, it is probably already too late.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent analysis
Review: It is quite frightening to think of a world without energy. During the mid 70's, as a school kid, I remember the big campaign launched by oil companies in India -" Save that drop of oil, or walk to your destination 20 years from now". Thanks to the crisis in the middle-east, the rest of the world was starving for oil. Economies slowed down, inflation rose and unemployment hurt. One commodity that we rely on to drive down to our destinations, whose availability is unfortunately skewed could virtually halt the rest of the world. OPEC continues to control the valve through which most of the world's oil flows. This is a political issue that affects economies globally.If we assume that oil is abundantly available, then we are faced the problem of the resulting pollution and global warming that our machines create. We then need to think of an alternate energy source that is free from political and environmental sensitivities. This book is an excellent analysis of the global energy scene from the perspectives of deregulation, environmental issues and the research on new technologies that are capable of providing cheap, clean and reliable sources of energy. Vijay has brought to the table his extensive and in-depth knowledge of the subject and also the views of key people in the field. The book has been divided into logical chapters and each one is a topic of discussion by itself. His comparison of energy sources, consumption patterns and technology access across the developed and the developing worlds is superb. The rich nations have a role and an obligation to help the poorer nations to access nonpolluting technologies. At many places the book provides the latest figures on pollution rates, energy consumption and economic indicators that support the analysis. Hydrogen is the winner in the race and search for the fuel of the future. If the internet connects millions of computes that share information, soon we will have an energy internet that shares and trades clean energy. Maybe, energy might become even free. After all hydrogen is abundantly available on earth. Fuel cells seem to be emerging as a disruptive technology. Imagine devices like laptops, palmtops and mobile phones powered by small fuel cells that can be run on alcohol. Just give them a small drink and they will keep running for days. I am looking for a sign that will assure our children - "Twenty years from now, your cars will need only water to drive you to your destinations" A must read for all who care for energy, environment and economics.
Rating:
Summary: Best Environmental Book in a Decade
Review: Power to the People is the best and most important book on global environmental issues since The Ecology of Commerce. Here at Aspen Skiing Company, we're making it mandatory reading for all senior executives. It's balanced but hits the crucial issue of our time--energy use--dead on; it provides a grounded, sensible perspective on climate change that few could disagree with; and it's a major service to people and organizations trying to get the corporate world, government, and individuals moving towards action on climate change and cleaner energy sources. This landmark book will become part of the sustainable business canon, along with the Ecology of Commerce, Natural Capitalism, Cradle to Cradle, and Cool Companies.
Rating:
Summary: Good Overview, but disappointing... NO quantitative data
Review: The book is very well written and the author has interviewed many leaders in the energy business. But for a field with so many subtle tradeoffs, the book lacks critical numerical information. The conclusions reached lack the authority that might have come with numerical data. It is difficult to believe that the Vaitheeswaran actually graduated from a leading engineering school.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought Provoking Book
Review: The title caught my attention..and I started reading.. Good book to get a peek on a few up and coming possibilities in the Energy Industry. The author has a very good ability to write so that it connects well and keeps interest. I really enjoyed reading about the various possibilities that the coming change in the energy industry might entail.. Especially about various developments in the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen world. The author has done comprehensive research for this book which is admirable and there is a lot of journalism in the book. Overall a good book. Highly recommend it if you are curious about the energy industry trends
Rating:
Summary: Wets Your Appetite, But Leaves You Wanting More
Review: This book is as excellent an introduction to the topic of the future of energy as any book on the market. This statement, however, is more a reflection of the lack of alternatives to Power to the People as it is of the book's own strengths. To be certain, it is a well-written and smartly researched book. One would expect nothing less from a writer from The Economist. It's strongest point is to so thoroughly make the case for why the energy sector must change in the next decades. The pollution and inefficiency that the modern subsidization of the carbon-based energy economy creates harms global welfare. However, its greatest weakness is to skimp on the details as to how the energy sector should transform itself. This book does not go into how solar energy works, or what government policies concerning wind energy should be. In fact in doesn't even survey the prospects for renewable energy, by say, arguing that solar cells are the future. Rather it puts forth a well reasoned case that the days of carbon-based fuels must end, and that governments must stop the carbon subsidy and research alternatives. End of story. In fact its most interesting chapters don't concern energy at all but have to do with reconciling the philosophies of capitalism with those of environmentalism, as task that the author does quite well. A good starting point for those interested in the future of energy, but if you're looking for more specific forecast of how global energy production will or should be composed in the future, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Simplistic.
Review: This book is for readers with little or no knowledge of recent debates on energy security, global warming, etc. as well as related technological advances in fields such as hydrogen and fuel cells. The author contributes little to previous books on the subject, such as Rikin's book on hydrogen which is much better researched and just as accesible to the general public. If anything, the book's original contribution is to discuss how energy and environmental issues can be addressed using market mechanisms. In doing so, the author comes up with some interesting case studies, but it's quite obvious he is biased toward the same tired free-market ideology that is endlessly promoted in the pages of The Economist, which happens to be the author's employer. Moreover, there was little effort in integrating the various chapters. Overall, a very disapointing book. The author should stick to journalism.
Rating:
Summary: How the World is Going to Change
Review: This book lets a person view a little bit of what's to come in the future in the energy field. The thing that makes this so exciting is that this energy will be environmentally friendly and more reliable then today's. The key to this book is the way it written. Scientists around the world have been trying to tell people about the advantages of clean energy for decades. This book on the other hand paints it all into a clear picture that everyone would enjoy looking at.
Rating:
Summary: How the World is Going to Change
Review: This book lets a person view a little bit of what's to come in the future in the energy field. The thing that makes this so exciting is that this energy will be environmentally friendly and more reliable then today's. The key to this book is the way it written. Scientists around the world have been trying to tell people about the advantages of clean energy for decades. This book on the other hand paints it all into a clear picture that everyone would enjoy looking at.
Rating:
Summary: Provocative
Review: Vaitheeswaran provides a fascinating bird's-eye view of the coming energy revolution. He makes a breathlessly urgent argument for the wonders of the free market, and how business and industry can potentially solve many of the world's problems -- if only wrong-headed politicians and regulators would leave them in peace. One gets an immediate taste of this point-of-view early on, when Vaitheeswaran spends an entire chapter debating whether it makes more sense to place one's trust in an Enron-type corporate model, or that of Exxon... And while many would dispute his characterization of the so-called past ``successes'' of electric deregulation, one cannot not but admire the enthusiam for which Vaitheeswaran expounds on its future potential. An example: Vaitheeswaran often cites the wonders of electric deregulation in Texas. In point of fact, one can easily argue that electric rates are demonstrably higher than they would otherwise have been under the old regulated system. It's also an undisputable fact that retail competition has only taken hold in two parts of Texas: around Dallas and around Houston. Statewide, only about 10 percent of residential consumers (as of 2004) have decided to jump to an electric competitor. Such low participation, a lack of real competition and higher prices -- one might argue -- do not equal ''success''. There have been other concerns raised about deregulation in Pennsylvania -- another of the so-called success stories cited by Vaitheeswaran. Nonetheless, Vaitheeswaran's identification of micropower and hydogen-based fuel cells as important energy sources of the future could likely be prescient. Such energy sources could help save the Dallas area from its current power crunch. Because of environmental rules and difficulty acquiring right-of-way, there are no easy ways to build new power plants around Dallas, nor easy ways to pump in extra power from the outside. Micro-power could very well be the answer... Overall, Power to the People is a provocative book. It's also a wonderfully fast and easy read. Vaitheeswaran's optimism for the future is infectious... Power to the People is a must-read for anybody interested in energy policy, the environment, and the liberalization of energy markets.
| 
