THE WHOLE EARTH ENERGY CRISIS, 1973

While there is much factual information in Woodburn's earnest review of the current status and future prospects of the major and minor sources of energy (solar energy, natural gas, oil, oil shale, coal, nuclear energy including the breeder reactor and fusion, wind power, water power, tidal and geothermal power), the presentation would benefit from the addition of diagrams and tables which would give it form and proportion and permit the reader to compare the significance of water power with that of natural gas, for example. The babyish tone and the author's favorite phrase, ""the whole earth windup toy,"" soon grate, and his predilection for obscure units (trillions, decillions, etc.) does not add to the reader's comprehension of the magnitudes involved in our consumption of energy. What is lacking is a detailed budget of where our energy goes now, and how much might be saved by eliminating the grosser forms of waste.