In the Servitude of Power by Daniel Hmery

In the Servitude of Power by Daniel Hmery

This stimulating, informative and at times frightening book provides an overall history of energy usage as a fundamental factor in the evolution of the world’s major civilizations, from pre-history to the present day. It serves as a history of human impact on the biosphere and the consequences of this for the rise and fall of civilizations. The authors look in detail at how different forms of energy use have shaped society in the earliest civilizations – Egypt, Mesopotamia and India – as well as in Ancient Greece and Rome, Imperial China, Medieval Europe, and during the industrial revolution. They go on to cover the rise of the internal combustion engine, electrification, oil, nuclear power, and contemporary ecological problems. They show how all societies are dependent on fragile and unstable energy systems that combine particular technical knowledge, conceptions of nature, and relations of power. When this system reaches its limits, a major crisis is inevitable. Our own world is entering such a crisis as we exhaust our non-renewable resources and confront the consequences of global warming. And the Third World and Eastern Europe face even worse dilemmas. As for nuclear energy, the authors show it to be an economically unviable attempt to shore up an outworn system. They ask whether there is any technical way of overcoming these limits other than an overall change in the way our society functions. In the Servitude of Poweris an authoritative and comprehensive guide to what promises to be the end of an era.

'The blistering conclusions of this fascinating and original book are sure to spark off many debates'
Le Monde Diplomatique

'The authors of this book are the first to show how large a constraint energy imposes on the evolution of civilizations. They do so in a style accessible to the lay person while remaining interesting to the specialist.'
La Vie Francaise

'In the Servitude of Power goes beyond energy to present a fine panorama of humanity from its origins onwards.'
La Tribune

Jean-Claude Debeir and Daniel Hémery are historians, Jean-Paul Deléage a physicist. They teach at the University of Paris.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780862329433
ISBN 10	0862329434
Title	In the Servitude of Power
Author	Daniel Hmery
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published	1991-11-14
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.