Bruce Podobnik is Associate Professor of Sociology at Lewis and Clark College. He is co-editor (with Thomas Reifer) of Transforming Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities in the Post 9/11 Era, as well as a number of articles on environmental and social movement topics.

"Energy transitions are inherently complex and long-drawn affairs, extending over generations. That is why any serious appraisal of future options and changes should be informed by the history of past shifts, concerns and accomplishments: Podobnik's book is a wide-ranging and well-written contribution to this critical understanding."-Vaclav Smil, Distinguished Professor, University of Manitoba "Global Energy Shifts aims to recover the role of geopolitical rivalry, corporate competition, and social movements in shaping patterns of energy production and consumption via a grand historical survey. Podobnik is successful at de-naturalizing these transitions: they are shown to the negotiated/contested outcomes of interactions between states, capital and society as opposed to emerging from any 'inherent' properties of coal or oil. This is a significant contribution, and one made all the more forceful by the innovative use of diverse data sources."-Gavin Bridge, University of Manchester

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgments1. Global Energy Shifts in World Historical Perspective2. The Rise of Coal3. Conflict in Coal and the Emergence of New Energy Systems4. The First Period of Crisis5. The Rise of Oil, Natural Gas, and Nuclear Power6. The Second Period of Crisis7. Toward a Sustainable Energy SystemAppendix A: Sources and Methods Used to Compile Energy DataAppendix B: Glossary of Petroleum Company NamesAppendix C: Sources of Strike Data in Energy IndustriesNotesBibliographyIndex

Bruce Podobnik is Associate Professor of Sociology at Lewis and Clark College. He is co-editor (with Thomas Reifer) of Transforming Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities in the Post 9/11 Era, as well as a number of articles on environmental and social movement topics.

"Energy transitions are inherently complex and long-drawn affairs, extending over generations. That is why any serious appraisal of future options and changes should be informed by the history of past shifts, concerns and accomplishments: Podobnik's book is a wide-ranging and well-written contribution to this critical understanding."-Vaclav Smil, Distinguished Professor, University of Manitoba "Global Energy Shifts aims to recover the role of geopolitical rivalry, corporate competition, and social movements in shaping patterns of energy production and consumption via a grand historical survey. Podobnik is successful at de-naturalizing these transitions: they are shown to the negotiated/contested outcomes of interactions between states, capital and society as opposed to emerging from any 'inherent' properties of coal or oil. This is a significant contribution, and one made all the more forceful by the innovative use of diverse data sources."-Gavin Bridge, University of Manchester

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgments1. Global Energy Shifts in World Historical Perspective2. The Rise of Coal3. Conflict in Coal and the Emergence of New Energy Systems4. The First Period of Crisis5. The Rise of Oil, Natural Gas, and Nuclear Power6. The Second Period of Crisis7. Toward a Sustainable Energy SystemAppendix A: Sources and Methods Used to Compile Energy DataAppendix B: Glossary of Petroleum Company NamesAppendix C: Sources of Strike Data in Energy IndustriesNotesBibliographyIndex