
Oil
An Audio Guide
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Narrated by:
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Robert Meldrum
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By:
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Vaclav Smil
About this listen
Packed with fascinating facts and insight, this book will fuel dinner party debate, and provide listeners with the science and politics behind the world’s most controversial resource.
Without oil, there would be no globalisation, no plastic, little transport, and a global political landscape that few would recognise. It is the lifeblood of the modern world, and humanity’s dependence upon it looks set to continue for decades to come.
In this captivating audiobook, Vaclav Smil explains all matters related to ‘black gold’, from its discovery in the earth, right through to the political maelstrom that surrounds it today.
©2008 Vaclav Smil (P)2012 Bolinda PublishingEditorial reviews
Essential for anyone living in the modern world, Oil, plumbs the depths of our globalized societies' greatest commodity. In the beginning of the audiobook, Vaclav Smil warns that this book does go into mathematical and scientific detail, and is therefore best suited for those with at least some familiarity with those subjects. The audiobook is a well-researched, unbiased look at how oil affects virtually everyone on this planet. Smil goes into minute detail describing the processes of finding, extracting, refining, and selling oil.
Later, Smil ponders our future in regards to oil. Can we wean our dependence on oil as supplies diminish? What would that future look like? These and many other questions are addressed in this timely audio, narrated by staid and eloquent Robert Meldrum.
Critic reviews
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Let me save you a credit: progress is hard
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By: Vaclav Smil
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Invention and Innovation
- A Brief History of Hype and Failure
- By: Vaclav Smil
- Narrated by: Tim Fannon
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The world is never finished catching up with Vaclav Smil. In his latest and perhaps most digestible book, Invention and Innovation, the prolific author—a favorite of Bill Gates—pens an insightful and fact-filled jaunt through the history of human invention. Impatient with the hype that so often accompanies innovation, Smil offers in this book a clear-eyed corrective to the overpromises that accompany everything from new cures for diseases to AI.
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Not the best from Vaclav, but near the top
- By Tan on 07-19-23
By: Vaclav Smil
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- By: Vaclav Smil
- Narrated by: Ben Prendergast
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Overall
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Performance
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Strange book
- By Stephen on 05-25-21
By: Vaclav Smil
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- Narrated by: Dave Ferguson
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this user-friendly and informative audiobook, prolific author and academic Vaclav Smil provides an introduction to this far-reaching term and gives the reader a greater understanding of energy's place in both past and present society. Starting with an explanation of the concept, he goes on to cover such exciting topics as the inner workings of the human body, and the race for more efficient and environmentally friendly fuels.
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-
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- By See Reverse on 03-02-18
By: Vaclav Smil
-
How to Feed the World
- The History and Future of Food
- By: Vaclav Smil
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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-
lots of dense information, hard to absorb.
- By chris on 05-20-25
By: Vaclav Smil
-
Energy and Civilization
- A History
- By: Vaclav Smil
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel-driven civilization and offers listeners a magisterial overview of humanity's energy eras.
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-
Not a good format for this book
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By: Vaclav Smil
Best Overview of Oil Industry
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A very good and Broad overview of oil
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good data presented! thank you.
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Best book on oil
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Where does Oil: Bolinda Beginner Guides rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Right near the top few % of the few hundred books I've read.If you could give Oil: Bolinda Beginner Guides a new subtitle, what would it be?
The Definitive Macro Level Oil Industry Summary for Executives, Workers, and Learners of every variety.Any additional comments?
98% of the time, I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator's accent and delivery! (However, his pronunciation of the word "asphalt" always sounds so odd to my southern Louisiana ears!)Nevertheless, his accent and highly skilled delivery tremendously enrich the content, and will imbue some reader's experience with a globalized, cosmopolitan tone (and concomitant sense of wonder.) And this meshes perfectly with the underlying content.
Truly an excellent book, and an excellent production.
Absolutely Masterful! Comprehensive yet succinct.
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Great summary of the facts
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Part Encyclopedia
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What did you like best about Oil: Bolinda Beginner Guides? What did you like least?
Loved the clarity, wish the book was 4 times as long and more in depth.What other book might you compare Oil: Bolinda Beginner Guides to and why?
It's as if Bill Gates let his TED talk go for 7 hours, instead 15 minutes. A lot to go over, and well evaluated.What does Robert Meldrum bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
As a dyslexic person, I couldn't 'just read the book'... So you could say that with Roberts help I was able to absorb 30% of the books facts and 90% of it's conceptions, where as if I read it I would have absorbed maybe 30% of it's facts but 10% of its conceptions...Did Oil: Bolinda Beginner Guides inspire you to do anything?
Yes, it has inspired me to try and invest in natural gas companies.Any additional comments?
If you want to know how the world works, I think Vaclav Smil may be an author for you!Oil! 7 Hours of facts and science!
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