In Deep Water

At the book's writing, the infamous BP well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico had only just been sealed. Establishing responsibility will go on for years, but the authors want Americans to know the price for petroleum goes far beyond money. Damage to wildlife, the seafood business, and tourism demonstrates the monumental risk we take to harvest fossil fuels and continue our dependence on them. The cozy relationship between oil industry executives and federal regulators impaired oversight. Narrator Tom Weiner utilizes his trademark brisk pace, sometimes through a forest of statistics. His sonorous voice never stumbles or mumbles, making us imagine we really understand the difference between millions, billions, and trillions. Weiner enhances the quality of the audio experience with his preternatural resonance. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

November 8, 2010
NRDC director Lehner and author Deans (The River Where America Began) open their informative anatomy with three questions: What happened? How did we arrive at this point? And where must we go from here? Their answers form a concise narrative about the politics of oil and the environmental implications, and the human impact from current production and accidents. Equally comfortable describing the geological history of the Gulf and the fishing life known to generations, the authors trace the story of a disaster that resulted in an oil spill of 200 million gallons. Readers will be disturbed to learn that BP's engineers and executives had been warned of faults in the process, offering them numerous chances to avoid the 11 deaths and resulting spill. Lehner and Deans discuss the ultimate disaster's source - the unquenchable American thirst for oil - and suggest well-known means of reducing dependency, such as hybrid vehicles, electric trains and increased use of rail transport, and alternative fuels. While the authors do interpret government policy, readers will find the book based in facts and research.