Daniel Yergin

Dubbed "America's most influential energy pundit" by The New York Times, Daniel Yergin is author of the new bestseller The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World. His ambitious work chronicles the history of energy from solar power to natural gas, and much, much more.
The book begins with a dramatic narrative of "the new world of oil." Picking up where his Pulitzer Prize winning history of oil, The Prize, left off, Yergin describes the "Great Game" that emerged with the breakup of the former Soviet Union and depicts the turbulence in the Middle East. But he also shows how the great contest over energy has expanded. Today, China's demand for Middle Eastern oil continues to grow, bringing new geopolitical complexities. Yergin describes why China is expected to overtake the United States in terms of total oil consumption.
Dr. Yergin devotes significant time in his book to the past, progress, and prospects of renewable resources including wind, biofuels, and solar energy. He emphasizes the distinct possibility of game-changing technology being developed and compares venture capitalist interest in such technologies to Internet startups In a chapter called "The Science Experiment".
The Quest also focuses on energy security and threats to stability posed by conflicts and upheaval. Daniel Yergin explains why Iran's oil-financed nuclear ambitions are soy unsettling, as they could permanently alter the region's balance of power and lead to tragic confrontations. He points to cyber-terrorism as presenting a new and growing threat to the electricity grid and to energy supply that is just as serious as risks involving physical pipelines and tankers – or more so.
Daniel Yergin founded Cambridge Energy Research Associates and serves as Vice Chairman of IHS Inc. He is on the boards of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative and New America Foundation and is a trustee of the Brookings Institution.