The New Map by Daniel Yergin

The New Map by Daniel Yergin is a book on Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations. The book has been recently published in 2020 by Penguin Random House and covers the fascinating intersection of energy, energy transition, the intersection of the Big Three - the US, Russia and China, geopolitics and  technology. Daniel Yergin is a Pulitzer Prize winning author and expert on the Energy Industry. This is third book of Daniel that I have read besides The Prize - A phenomenally interesting book and The Quest, a book I found much less engaging than the Prize. Daniel is also the Vice Chair at IHS Markit, one of the world's most established energy research houses, a senior trustee at Brookings Institute and has been closely associated with US Energy Policies across both Democrat and Republican administrations. 

The initial few chapters are devoted to the Big Three and their respective energy and geopolitical maps. 

For the US the key theme is the emergence of Shale Oil and Gas and the ability of the US and North American continent to become a major energy player and exporter, something that was unthinkable a few decades ago. The role of innovation, determination, burgeoning private sector and deep financial markets demonstrates how a country can radically transform its bargaining position and disrupt an established order namely OPEC to its advantage. The Shale revolution gave the US a fantastic set of cards to play with that have wide reaching consequences for the rest of the world.  

Energy and Russia have been inextricably linked for more than a century now. One of the largest energy producers, the Russian State and the energy industry are closely intertwined and lines are blurred between the use of energy to secure economic gains or score political wins. Russia's dominant energy position has enabled it to play an outsized role in impacting European and Middle Eastern political and economic systems and now increasingly in Asia as it pivots to new markets to counterbalance a dependence on Europe for selling its energy. 

And there is China. Whilst the US and Russia have been energy and geopolitical heavyweights for generations, there is the new elephant (or dragon) in the room and that is China. With its meteoric rise driven by a hyper scaled manufacturing base, essentially the workshop of the world, China has an outsized role in modern energy markets. Along with that comes the paranoia of being a massive energy importer as energy is fundamental to its development and establishment as a key geopolitical power. Chapters cover the key energy choke points, South China Sea, Belt and Road Initiative, China Trade and Commerce and the rise of Chinese nationalism, self confidence and modernisation impact of its armed forces.   

When we think of maps and energy our minds are immediately drawn to the Middle East. The book devotes considerable pages towards the historical settings that created the modern Middle Eastern map. The book covers all the key issues namely, Iran, Iraq, the house of Saudi Arabia, Gulf Wars, Arab Nationalism, Islamic Fundamentalism, Arab Spring Revolutions, Proxy Wars including the Sunni Shia divide, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Eastern Med and their future in a world that is less oil dependent. Considerable detail has been spent trying to provide the reader with valuable insight and context into very important considerations that shape a key energy region which is highly unstable and subject to rapidly changing developments. 

The map of energy has to include the map of the future. The primary demand for oil is transportation hence understanding the evolution of the EV market is fundamental. Three key forces are discussed including electrification of the car (rise of Tesla etc), self driving cars and 'servicization' of the car due to the likes of Uber via technology.  

The book ends appropriately with the 'Climate Map'. A super critical chapter on a pressing issue namely the Climate Crisis. As we push for more energy to grow our economies we need to balance that with the danger of GHG emissions and the impact on climate. The demand for electricity will continue to rise and with that pressure to switch from coal to gas to renewables. These forces are swiftly unfolding as I write this review and every country is working towards growing its power generation base but increasing renewables in the power mix. To compound matters, there is a huge divide between developed and developing countries when it comes to the energy transition with valid arguments on both divides. 

The book is a spectacular read and covers all the key issues that impact the world today in particular the energy world. The book has gone into sufficient detail across many key developments and provided the appropriate historical and political contexts. This is vital as the energy world as we see it today is not just a function of the energy industry but has immensely been shaped by the arc of history and geopolitics. The next stop is to go the IHS Markit portal and download the articles that are referenced across the book to get a more complete picture. Daniel Yergin has once again demonstrated excellent knowledge of this industry and the book I dare say is a must read!

https://www.amazon.com/New-Map-Energy-Climate-Nations/dp/B086DLRRLT

Ending Hunger by Anthony Warner

Ending Hunger - The Quest to Feed the World Without Destroying It, is a book written by Anthony Warner and published by One World Publications in 2021. After graduating from university, Anthony worked as a professional chef for many years in kitchens across the UK and London. He is also the author of a famous book called the Angry Chef (which I have not read but plan to do so) and maintains a very active blog on food which can be accessed at https://angry-chef.com/

Ending Hunger is a fantastic book and provides innumerable insights into the world of food, diets, society, eating & nourishment trends and dispels a lot of popular myths around something very basic namely food. The book touches on pretty much all the key aspects around food and reveals arguments from both sides of the aisle; namely the quest to appropriately feed a burgeoning population and the environmental impact of an ever growing food production system. 

Normally when I review a book, I will highlight important facts, learnings, insights and conclusions. In some cases I may not agree with all the conclusions and will state where I disagree. For this book review there will be no deep insights or conclusions. So why did I decide to deviate from the approach? 

This book is about food, hunger, feeding us as individuals and feeding the world at large. Food is a basic human function that we all take for granted. Whilst awareness levels around food and nutrition have been rising; on an individual basis we still appreciate very little about the food that we eat. It is for this fundamental reason that I implore people to read this book.  

As a book on food and hunger, it goes into the history of food, hunger, famines, food systems and their developments and transformational events that have led to the modern system that we know of. It also goes into the challenge of feeding an ever growing population, the demands this is making on the environment and some harsh trade offs we shall face if we don't change course. The book also covers what we have done well in the recent past and some of the more horrific mistakes that have caused millions to suffer and die. Despite all this, the book is most definitely not alarmist!

Sustainability, pollution, carbon & GHG emissions and the degradation of land and water are front and center of every discourse these days. The book covers these topics in extensive detail and will give the reader a panoramic view of all these key issues in reasonable depth. Reading these chapters will most definitely provide you with unique perspectives across each of these key challenges. After reading these chapters, I hope the next time you engage in a discussion around these topics, you will base your arguments on facts rather than emotion outbursts or social media posts.

Meat, chicken, beef and GHG emissions are also covered in depth. The sustainability versus the suitability arguments around eating meat and growing livestock is a hotly contested topic in today's world with extremely polarising views. By reading the chapters around meat, you should be able to secure sufficient facts, reject a few common myths and form your own view on this topic, which I hope is a balanced one.

If you have been shopping for your food, especially in developed markets, two words that seem to be very popular are 'local & organic'. Whilst its natural to gravitate towards shelves that are lined with local and organic produce; we know little about the impact and challenges especially achieving scale when it comes to organic farming. With a whole chapter dedicated to local and organic, you will get up, close and into the specifics of local and organic food production concepts. 

Up next is GMO. If organic has its dedicated following of warriors, GMO has a wider & even more vocal and vehement collection of detractors. I knew little of GMO till I attended a talk by Sydney Brenner in Singapore. Brenner was born in South Africa, won a Nobel prize in medicine, worked closely with Watson & Crick and lived the latter part of his life in Singapore. His talk on many things including GMO was very illuminating and the book re-enforced his views on the subject. GMO is a complicated topic and I am glad Warner has spent a fair detail around GMO to give the reader a more accurate or dare say a more balanced picture around GMO. Once you know more about GMO then its natural for you to ask more about artificial proteins and the rise of companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Fret not, cause this is also covered and Warner shares a glimpse of what the future beholds in this regard. 

If we are talking about food, the development of food and food systems, meat v/s vegetables, GMO, local, organic etc, the one thing that is common across all of them is 'wastage'. If anyone is keen to know more about food, it's a must to know about food wastage. Closely linked to wastage is 'single use plastic' and again the author does a wonderful job to present a balanced and fair view to the reader. 

By now you have guessed that I have enjoyed this book. Yes, I have learnt a lot, and a few (maybe quite a few) myths have been blown away. My approach to food, whether its buying it or eating it or realising the impact of the food that we eat is transformed after reading this book. The wonderful parts about the book are the final few chapters. They detail what we can do as a community and as an individual to improve and enhance the food system of the world. 

We owe it to ourselves and the future generations that the dual purpose is met; namely a growing population is better fed but also the earth where all our food comes from is taken care of and nurtured.  What better way to sum this up than with a quote from the book - "A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit" 

Read this book and you wont be disappointed! 

https://www.amazon.com/Ending-Hunger-quest-without-destroying/dp/1786079267