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2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 "The environmental bottleneck challenges our grandchildren" May 17, 2007
An intense and thought provoking read. This is an important book. Well written and researched, this other inconvenient truth emerges on the balancing side of Gore's climate change equation. "An Inconvenient Truth" is focused on carbon output. Jim Owen's book, "Powerless", is focused on the input to our carbon-based economic engine, and our dependence on it. It explains a world hooked on cheap energy that will next face a diminishing of these economically addictive resources. Challenging times are predicted ahead.
Bottom line: between now and 2050-2080 mankind will pass through E.O. Wilson's "bottleneck" as the planet is maxed out from our demands on it.
Will we survive? He doesn't say. Should we develop alternative energy? Absolutely. But this bottleneck between whale oil to petroleum to the next smart energy choice will be the chasm we must cross to thrive. Conclusions? Those are yours to make, though I have changed my investment strategy to include energy stocks. I am now convinced this change is coming and is inevitable.
If you own books penned by Thomas Friedman, Jared Diamond, E.O. Wilson, Spencer Wells, Darwin, then this book is a must read. If you haven't read the above authors, then start with "Powerless", and pick through the 50+ books referenced in Owen's "favorites" in his bibliography included in this book.
It is said that mankind migrated out of Africa based on climate change - one can only wonder where and what's next for us now after reading this book.
Pat Cox
Phoenix, AZ
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Mental fuel to attack the coming drop in worldwide fuel stocks. May 02, 2007
James R. Owen's book Powerless was an interesting read for me on three different levels. I have also written a book, though I am still in rewrite mode on mine and wanted to see what a book "read" like from an author who was publishing his first book. I was impressed with his writing style as it was very clear and succinct. Don't misunderstand me, Owen's did not simply write a succinct book about oil resources. He adroitly wove in a family history to demonstrate his point in the changes which have occurred in the world since the Industrial Revolution took hold as the driving force of the world's economy. He made the family history demonstrate his points clearly and spoke to the reader as though we are his grandchildren. Those bonus features made a difficult story a very engaging read for me.
The second area that was interesting for me was how he handled telling a bad story. I knew going in that the book was not going to say we have enough oil for 1000 years so why worry. The book is titled "Powerless" after all. He managed to weave in some pluses such as global warming will be reduced in the coming decades do to the climbing prices for oil and therefore we will likely see a corresponding reduction in future carbon emissions as a result. He also provided some possibilities for alternative fuels to replace oil but he did not major in those themes. Instead he stuck to his guns and his extensive research and produced a no holds barred review of the history and future impact resulting from the coming depletions in the world's oil reserves. Therefore he gets high marks from me for not amplifying the potential silver linings for this very real problem. He laid it out and said we have to fix this and a few people protesting won't do it. He also reviewed potential changes to our culture and civilization in general as the cost of oil continues its steep climb into the future. Though the book was an interesting and educational read it did have some spots towards the end of the book, specifically in his chapter on human limits, where it was not as easy to navigate as the rest of the book. A minor complaint overall however.
The third area that was interest for me I discovered in the early pages of his book. I could tell from some of his references that he had read the books published in the last decade on subjects from archeology through religion and economics. When I finished his book I was surprised to see he had included a listing of some the books. I chuckled as read names like Armstrong, Mithen, Diamond and Friedman. I new after 20 pages he must have been reading some of the same books that I have over the last few years. Ironically he expressed similar opinions to those that I hold, though not identical, in the adjacent topics to his subject. That was just another bonus. I personally wish there was a place on Amazon where people who have read and written the latest on these types subjects (essentially cored in the advancement of cognitive understanding) would be listed together. I think it would be very interesting to read more books from these types of authors.
In the end I am going to rate the book four stars and I am not sure if I am penalizing Owen's by withholding the fifth star, simply for writing on an extraordinarily difficult subject. But ratings are a gut feel and overall a very impressive first offering from any author. One can only hope that Owen's will continue writing and publishing in the future.
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