The New Map

Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations

By: Daniel Yergin

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

A Wall Street Journal best seller and a USA Today Best Book of 2020!

Named Energy Writer of the Year for The New Map by the American Energy Society

“A master class on how the world works.” (NPR)

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and global energy expert Daniel Yergin offers a revelatory new account of how energy revolutions, climate battles, and geopolitics are mapping our future.

The world is being shaken by the collision of energy, climate change, and the clashing power of nations in a time of global crisis. Out of this tumult is emerging a new map of energy and geopolitics. The "shale revolution" in oil and gas has transformed the American economy, ending the "era of shortage" but introducing a turbulent new era. Almost overnight, the United States has become the world's number one energy powerhouse. Yet concern about energy's role in climate change is challenging the global economy and way of life, accelerating a second energy revolution in the search for a low-carbon future. All of this has been made starker and more urgent by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic dark age that it has wrought.

World politics is being upended, as a new cold war develops between the United States and China, and the rivalry grows more dangerous with Russia, which is pivoting east toward Beijing. Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping are converging both on energy and on challenging American leadership, as China projects its power and influence in all directions. The South China Sea, claimed by China and the world's most critical trade route, could become the arena where the United States and China directly collide. The map of the Middle East, which was laid down after World War I, is being challenged by jihadists, revolutionary Iran, ethnic and religious clashes, and restive populations. But the region has also been shocked by the two recent oil price collapses - and by the very question of oil's future in the rest of this century.

A master storyteller and global energy expert, Daniel Yergin takes the listener on an utterly riveting and timely journey across the world's new map. He illuminates the great energy and geopolitical questions in an era of rising political turbulence and points to the profound challenges that lie ahead.

©2020 Daniel Yergin (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“The veteran energy analyst Daniel Yergin has turned his considerable talents to explaining how the world continues to be shaped by oil in his latest book, The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations . . . Reportorial and supremely readable—no mean feat among geostrategy tomes.” —Wall Street Journal

“A lucid, judicious overview of global energy and its discontents.” —Publishers Weekly

“Yergin delivers a fascinating and meticulously researched page-turner . . . Required reading. Another winner from a master.” —Kirkus (starred review)

Insightful and enjoyable

Enough detail to be informative yet fast enough pace to be entertaining. I feel better off for having listened .

Masterful Storytelling

Daniel Yergin is simply outstanding. This is a must-read for every Energy enthusiast and professional.

Thought provoking and full of data

The story telling allows you to focus on the subjects more relevant to your field. Tons of usable date and good conclusions.

It Makes a World of Sense, Oil & Gas are here to STAY

Totally enjoyed the overall history of each region and how Daniel allowed the read to makeup his mind about future outcomes between the four big players ….

An energetic and helpful reading

Robert Petkoff gives an energetic and helpful reading to Yergin’s, The New Map. He is clear and facilitates the enjoyment and comprehension of the book.

Nice survey course material

This was a solid and well researched overview of updated energy and climate geopolitics. As someone who works on these issues professionally, this did not bring much new thinking or insight per se, but definitely is a phenomenal resource for getting caught up on things if you haven’t been paying attention for the past decade or are new to the field.

Great book and

Really good insight to world energy and world powers. Kind of veers off in the end.

Great research behind, a bit poor the conclusions

I think the book is extremely well written but mostly well researched. All the historical background knowledge collected is absolutely great.
I was a bit disappointed though by the past few conclusive chapters which do not really draw too much after all this gigantic preamble work presented. Still absolutely worth reading it

Excellent read

Great analysis of global factors, opportunities and threats shaping the economic and political landscape of energy, including both fossils fuels and renewables

Decent and thorough Energy Disertation

This is a fairly expansive discussion about Energy which covers details I was not familiar with. It is pretty dry and without audio I would never have finished. It incorrectly assumes transition to electric transportation is a given. It is not. the limitations of electrification are many not the least of which is a fragile grid incredibly expensive grid unlikely to actually happen using low density land devouring wind and solar. both of these forms of power are riddled with implementation problems due to intermittently and vast variability problems with incredibly expensive solutions that will likely never happen. It fails to challenge the whole CO2 drives climate hypothesis which fails any deep scientific analysis.. The Sun drives the climate along with inter solar magnetic forces coupled with plasma and vast range of far more powerful natural forces that trace gas CO2.

In human terms the relative low cost and energy density of fossil fuels will still drive total power for the rest of this century.