Reviews
"May be the best technical book about the environment that I've ever read. This is to energy and climate what Freakonomics is to economics." —boingboing.net, "This is a brilliant book that is both a racy read and hugely informative . . . It shows . . . how cars might become far more efficient but why planes cannot." -David Newbery, director, Electricity Policy Research Group, University of Cambridge, "A tour de force . . . As a work of popular science it is exemplary . . . For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved [it] is the place to start." --economist.com, "Anyone trying to write technical documents for a non-technical audience ought to read this, just to see how it's done. Edward Tufte quality." -quercus.livejournal.com, "Here are the numbers in a form easy to digest about energy use and availability. Fantastic achievement." -Professor Volker Heine, Fellow of the Royal Society, "I would choose Sustainable Energy as a text over its competitors because MacKay has moved the energy discussion in the direction where energy alternatives can be considered quantitatively." -- American Journal of Physics, "A delight to read and will appeal especially to practical people who want to understand what is important in energy and what is not." -Dr Derek Pooley CBE, former chief scientist, UK Department of Energy, and member, European Union Advisory Group on Energy, "This is a must-have book for anyone who is seriously interested in energy policy." --Scott Kirwin, therazor.org, "Here are the numbers in a form easy to digest about energy use and availability. Fantastic achievement." —Professor Volker Heine, Fellow of the Royal Society, "This is a brilliant book that is both a racy read and hugely informative . . . It shows . . . how cars might become far more efficient but why planes cannot." --David Newbery, director, Electricity Policy Research Group, University of Cambridge, "A tour de force . . . As a work of popular science it is exemplary . . . For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved [it] is the place to start." —economist.com, "A delight to read and will appeal especially to practical people who want to understand what is important in energy and what is not." —Dr Derek Pooley CBE, former chief scientist, UK Department of Energy, and member, European Union Advisory Group on Energy, "The main text of his book is readable (and witty) and its technical appendices bristle with equations. If the planet and its people are the patient, MacKay's book is the the lab results, temperature chart and electrocardiogram." -- The New York Review of Books (April 26, 2012), "If someone wants an overall view of how energy gets used, where it comes from, and the challenges in switching to new sources, this is the book to read." —Bill Gates, chairman, Microsoft, "The main text of his book is readable (and witty) and its technical appendices bristle with equations. If the planet and its people are the patient, MacKay's book is the the lab results, temperature chart and electrocardiogram." - The New York Review of Books (April 26, 2012), "A tour de force . . . As a work of popular science it is exemplary . . . For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved [it] is the place to start." --economist.com, "May be the best technical book about the environment that I've ever read. This is to energy and climate what Freakonomics is to economics." --boingboing.net, "I would choose Sustainable Energy as a text over its competitors because MacKay has moved the energy discussion in the direction where energy alternatives can be considered quantitatively." — American Journal of Physics, "If only all scientists could adopt this approach, then perhaps there would be no need for politically motivated TV documentaries." -The Sun, "Here are the numbers in a form easy to digest about energy use and availability. Fantastic achievement." --Professor Volker Heine, Fellow of the Royal Society, "A tour de force . . . As a work of popular science it is exemplary . . . For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved [it] is the place to start." -Economist.com, "This is a brilliant book that is both a racy read and hugely informative . . . It shows . . . how cars might become far more efficient but why planes cannot." —David Newbery, director, Electricity Policy Research Group, University of Cambridge, "I would chooseSustainable Energyas a text over its competitors because MacKay has moved the energy discussion in the direction where energy alternatives can be considered quantitatively." -American Journal of Physics, "I would choose Sustainable Energy as a text over its competitors because MacKay has moved the energy discussion in the direction where energy alternatives can be considered quantitatively." -- American Journal of Physics, "A tour de force . . . As a work of popular science it is exemplary . . . For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved [it] is the place to start." -economist.com, "If someone wants an overall view of how energy gets used, where it comes from, and the challenges in switching to new sources, this is the book to read." -Bill Gates, chairman, Microsoft, "If someone wants an overall view of how energy gets used, where it comes from, and the challenges in switching to new sources, this is the book to read." --Bill Gates, chairman, Microsoft, "For anyone with influence on energy policy, whether in government, business or a campaign group, this book should be compulsory reading." --Tony Juniper (Former Executive Director, Friends of the Earth) "At last a book that comprehensively reveals the true facts about sustainable energy in a form that is both highly readable and entertaining." --Robert Sansom (EDF Energy) "MacKay brings a welcome dose of common sense into the discussion of energy sources and use. Fresh air replacing hot air." --Prof Mike Ashby Royal Society Research Professor at Cambridge University "This year's must-read book about tackling our future energy needs." -- The Guardian "... may be the best technical book about the environment that I've ever read. This is to energy and climate what Freakonomics is to economics." --Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing "The book is a tour de force ... As a work of popular science it is exemplary ... For anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the real problems involved [it] is the place to start." -- The Economist "The first factual meme on renewable energy? A book about climate change that gets rave reviews from folk at oil companies, environmental groups and the Number One Blog of All Time has to be worth a peek." --energysource blog, The Financial Times, "There are so many books about sustainable energy and alternative energy on today's market that one might wonder about the need for yet another; but Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air offers something different - and that's a notable achievement in a genre overloaded with too many revamps using the same approach." --D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review, California Bookwatch, "This is a must-have book for anyone who is seriously interested in energy policy." -Scott Kirwin, therazor.org, "May be the best technical book about the environment that I've ever read. This is to energy and climate what Freakonomics is to economics." -boingboing.net, "There are so many books about sustainable energy and alternative energy on today's market that one might wonder about the need for yet another; but Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air offers something different - and that's a notable achievement in a genre overloaded with too many revamps using the same approach." --D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review, California Bookwatch, "This is a must-have book for anyone who is seriously interested in energy policy." —Scott Kirwin, therazor.org, "May be the best technical book about the environment that I've ever read. This is to energy and climate what Freakonomics is to economics." --boingboing.net, "If someone wants an overall view of how energy gets used, where it comes from, and the challenges in switching to new sources, this is the book to read." --Bill Gates, chairman, Microsoft, "This is a must-have book for anyone who is seriously interested in energy policy." --Scott Kirwin, therazor.org, "Here are the numbers in a form easy to digest about energy use and availability. Fantastic achievement." --Professor Volker Heine, Fellow of the Royal Society, "This is a brilliant book that is both a racy read and hugely informative . . . It shows . . . how cars might become far more efficient but why planes cannot." --David Newbery, director, Electricity Policy Research Group, University of Cambridge