In this seminal book, Bent Sorensen views human society as driven by the quest for, and control of, energy. From allowing our prehistoric ancestors to survive harsh northern European winters to more recent global energy security and climate concerns, the control and effective harnessing of energy sources has played a central role in human development. Using the written and archaeological record and, from earlier times, inferring the energy needs of humans through modeling of climatological conditions and other indirect parameters, Sorensen unwraps this previously little-explored field. Based...