Humans cannot survive without extracting energy from the environment. Black accompanies readers on a four-part journey that identifies and describes the physical and social processes connected with exploiting various resource types in the succession of energy exchange economies of societies past and present…. Black's accessible narrative clearly explains the engineering and societal entailments of each scenario. As Black tells it, the greatest social and physical transformations occurred with the uptake of coal and oil. Black poses an inconvenient question with regard to the future: "Game over or game on?" is this author's way of "divining our energy future" in an epilogue that begins "Our earthly disaster unfolds in real time, attacking our planet's infrastructure often out of human sight or perception" (p. 273). Comparing today's atmospheric CO2 levels with Pleistocene levels (revealed by ice core sampling data), Black envisions a new stage of industrialization to enable a sustainable energy exchange regime capable of supporting continued human existence on planet Earth. Highly recommended. All readers.

Choice Reviews

In contrast to popular usage, history is not just about the past. Learning how the world got to be the way it is and the forces that govern its evolution, is essential to understanding the present and preparing to face the future. Brian Black has the rare ability to synthesize masses of information and craft narratives that are accessible to popular audiences without sacrificing analytical rigor. His latest work is a wide-ranging and informative account of the role of energy in modern history. Focusing on how societies have produced and consumed energy in the past, he provides new perspectives on the present and illuminates the possibilities of charting a more equitable and sustainable path for the future.

David S. Painter, emeritus, Georgetown University

No one knows more about the history of energy use than Brian C. Black. In this sweeping narrative, he argues with skill and insight that energy stands at the core of the entire human experience, from an ‘old biological regime’ to modern fossil fuel dependency. As we go through a major transition in our sources of energy, we need informed guides to where we have been—and there is none better than this author and his work

Donald Worster, author of Shrinking the Earth: The Rise and Decline of Natural Abundance

To Have and Have Not is a sane, no-nonsense guide to humanity's endless quest for the energy without which we could not survive. If you want to understand the history of this search—and, even more important, where it is taking us—this is an excellent place to start.

Ian Morris, Stanford University