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Science and technology journalist Murray offers a fascinating look at the beginning of a true peoples' electric car. The main story concerns the development of a battery that would power such a car. The idea seems easy but achieving it certainly was not. The main narrative revolves around the people who have tried, including their successes and failures. Several individuals appear early and vanish, only to reappear again later in the quest. In any effective narrative, the reader may get caught up in success and then be dismayed by failure, as has frequently happened in fact. As Murray tells it, battery capability was often developed in a small garage but sometimes in large plants, whether in Japan or Detroit. Individuals rarely received recognition, yet one engineer received the Nobel Prize. Some individuals, such as Elon Musk, achieved success through business acumen, as illustrated by the case of the Tesla, which has been a success in some ways but not in others. This book, on a subject that all automobile owners should consider, is really entertaining and explains a number of issues likely appearing in our daily news, such as access to chargers and the virtue of hybrids. A sequel to this volume would be appropriate as the story continues.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Almost everything about this book is astonishing. Jones (Univ. of Oregon) teaches environmental history, but he writes like a virtuoso journalist. For example, regarding Soviet history in the 1930s: ". . . violence burned its way like a winding fuse through networks of associates" (p. 51). With powerfully evocative prose and command of every aspect of his story, Jones describes the history of Soviet whaling, drawing on Russian-language publications, archival data, and interviews with knowledgeable persons. In four years during the 1960s, the Soviets killed 30,000 whales while reporting 1,000 to the International Whaling Commission. Eventually dominating other whaling nations, such as Norway and Japan, Soviet hunters helped drive deep-water whales to near extinction--until the realities forced a policy change. This account includes gripping detail from life aboard huge Soviet whaling ships such as the Aleut, also moving easily from Russian workers' buying sprees in Western ports to the family loyalties of whales and their astonishing intelligence in attempting to respond to human predators. This text is emotionally affecting but objective, not sentimental--altogether describable as a tour de force. Well-chosen Russian-language illustrations add significant flavor. The notes extend to 23 pages. Notably, Jones also wrote Empire of Extinction (CH, Apr'15, 52-4177) and coedited Across Species and Cultures (2022).Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers.