This book is aimed at students and professionals as well as anyone interested in having a global vision and perspective on energy.


Over the past two centuries the use of coal, and later oil and gas, to produce energy has allowed an unprecedented increase in the standard of living. Over the past fifty years the development of nuclear energy has given access to an even more powerful source of energy and more recently there has been a revival of interest in renewable energy sources.


This new edition has been fully updated, describing energy sources from the past, from today and for the future as well as focussing on their usages by looking at all the different issues (technological, economic, environmental, etc.). Each source of energy is presented with its advantages and disadvantages.


This book gives advice on how to use energy more efficiently in order to become less dependent upon fossil fuels, which are slowly being depleted and becoming more and more expensive. The inclusion of many tables and figures allows the reader to compare data on energy (reserves, consumption, production, etc.).

Preface by: Bernard Bigot
Translated by: Jeremy Hamand