A Student Guide to Energy

Gr 9 Up—Though broad and timely, this survey offers less than meets the eye. Nearly half the page count in every volume is taken up by an identical overview and a section of back matter thickened by the same dense charts of raw statistical data, dateless thumbnail biographies, and highly selective list of energy-product manufacturers, and paragraphs of text are repeated almost verbatim among the volumes. Furthermore, along with covering the developmental history and technology of different energy sources in significantly different levels of detail—nuclear energy and fossil fuels are covered in only 30 more pages than geothermal and biomass sources—Mongillo downplays hazards (Chernobyl, for instance, rates no mention except a reference in the time line). Even in the final volume, which is devoted to trends and case studies in "going green," he avoids any sustained discussion of environmental politics. The career- and innovation-oriented interviews with scientists and educators, extensive multimedia resource lists, and challenging project suggestions ("Make a hydrogen fuel-cell model car") in each volume add limited interest—but there is not enough to recommend this as a replacement or alternative for Neil Schlager's Alternative Energy (UXL, 2006).—John Peters, formerly at New York Public Library