Michael Stephenson – författare

“Well-documented, entertaining. . . . This excellent popular history should attract a wide audience with its fresh perspective.” —Publishers Weekly   Drawing on hundreds of specialist sources, contemporary and archival, Patriot Battles is the comprehensive one-volume study of the military aspects of the War of Independence. The first part of the book offers a richly detailed examination of the nuts and bolts of eighteenth-century combat: For example, who fought and what motivated them, whether patriot or redcoat, Hessian or Frenchman? How were they enlisted and trained? How were they clothed and fed? What weapons did they use, and how effective were they? When soldiers became casualties or fell ill, how did medical services deal with them? What roles did loyalists, women, blacks, and Indians play?   The second part of the book gives a closer look at the war's greatest battles, with maps provided for each. Which men were involved, and how many? What was the state of their morale and equipment? What parts did terrain and weather play? What were the qualities of the respective commanders, and what tactics did they employ? How many casualties were inflicted? And no less important, how did the soldiers fight?   Throughout, many cherished myths are challenged, reputations are reassessed, and long-held assumptions are tested. For all readers, Patriot Battles is one of the most satisfying and illuminating works to be added to the literature on the War of Independence in many years.   “An interesting and easily digestible study appealing to both military-history buffs and general readers.” —Booklist   “An iconoclastic, provocative study of the Revolutionary War that invalidates a few chestnuts.” —Kirkus Reviews

Shale Gas and Fracking: The Science Behind the Controversy explains the relevant geological principles before examining the peer-reviewed evidence and presenting it through a simple and compelling illustrated narrative. Each chapter focuses on a particular controversy, such contamination of well water with gas from fracking, and follows a similar format: starting with the principles; then detailing peer-reviewed case studies for earthquakes, radioactivity, and climate change; and concluding with a judgment of the general risks involved.

Shale Gas and Fracking: The Science Behind the Controversy provides readers with the unbiased information they need to make informed decisions on the controversial issue of fracking.

Energy and Climate Change: An Introduction to Geological Controls, Interventions and Mitigations examines the Earth system science context of the formation and use of fossil fuel resources, and the implications for climate change. It also examines the historical and economic trends of fossil fuel usage and the ways in which these have begun to affect the natural system (i.e., the start of the Anthropocene). Finally, the book examines the effects we might expect in the future looking at evidence from the "deep time" past, and looks at ways to mitigate climate change by using negative emissions technology (e.g. bioenergy and carbon capture and storage, BECCS), but also by adapting to perhaps a higher than "two degree world," particularly in the most vulnerable, developing countries. Energy and Climate Change is an essential resource for geoscientists, climate scientists, environmental scientists, and students; as well as policy makers, energy professionals, energy statisticians, energy historians and economists.