BY GREGORY DL MORRIS
BOOK REVIEW
The New Map : Energy , Climate , and the Clash of Nations
By Daniel Yergin
Penguin Press , New York , 2020 492 pages , with b / w illustrations , notes and index
For a 500-page book entitled The New Map , there are precious few maps . The ones that do exist are interesting and do support the text , but are monochrome and a bit parsimonious in detail .
Perhaps that is praising with faint damns this latest discourse by Daniel Yergin , vice chairman of IHS Markit , one of the major worldwide business-research firms ( full disclosure : this reviewer occasionally writes for a publication that is a subsidiary of IHS ). He is also a director on the Council of Foreign Relations , the US Energy Association and a trustee of the Brookings Institute .
Overall , the book is intelligent and insightful . It is equally approachable by a general reader seeking to put the confusing New World Disorder into some context , or by a financial or energy professional seeking a broader perspective . Yergin ’ s writing style has gotten more casual since The Prize : The Epic Quest for Oil , Money , and Power ( Simon & Schuster ,
New York , 1991 ), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize . His voice in The New Map could almost be called breezy . That seems to be the common approach these days even in serious non-fiction , but it can be off-putting for some .
For readers focused on financial history , there are some illuminating sections , as well as a few parts leaving the reader wishing there could have been further exploration . Yergin hits his stride early on pages 28 through 30 in an excellent overview of the way that unconventional oil and gas development , for which Yergin uses the common shorthand of “ shale ,” has structurally changed the nature of the energy business in North America and the world .
Yergin also does a good job of presenting fairly the environmental concerns surrounding shale development without getting into the hysteria surrounding hydraulic fracturing . Conspicuous by its absence , however , is any mention of the widespread practice of flaring of huge volumes of byproduct natural gas , most egregiously in the Permian Basin of west Texas . That was a missed opportunity to examine what appears to be a classic case of regulatory capture .
Still playing to his strengths , Yergin moves on to detail the re-emergence of the United States as a major exporter of crude oil and natural gas and how that development has completely restructured the global energy markets . And here is where the chattiness and anecdotal tone becomes a bit frustrating .
Yergin was present at the creation as all that happened , which makes for exciting reading . That said , do we really need to know who wears double-breasted suits and “ longish hair ”? A few of the fun stories could have been omitted in favor of more reporting on how global financial markets were also realigned to support the replumbing of North America and the reconfiguration of the world energy business . After pouring hundreds of billions into shale production over two decades , investors have finally begun to question seriously the ability of the sector to generate free cash .
Perhaps Yergin ’ s focus is more on the geopolitical side of finance . He provides an excellent analysis of the interweaving of business , religion , nationalism and energy across the Middle East from 1915 to today . The section from page 181 to 323 would stand alone very well . It is notable for its clarity , coherence and perspicacity .
Yergin also shows courage in reporting frankly about Chinese expansionism and the recently deposed regime in the US . He is careful not to criticize outright , but he does cast a bright light on the self-serving nature of China ’ s “ Belt and Road ” program and its “ debt trap ” lending to developing countries . Similarly , he highlights the inherent fallacies of US isolationism under the last administration .
There are also fascinating side stories , such as the financial , technical and political efforts to develop offshore gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean Sea . Rather than one sweeping conclusion , Yergin brings each topic to a close in its own section . In those his writing shines , getting less breezy and more sagacious . For example , he noted that the post-Cold War period characterized by focus on Brazil , Russia , India and China shifted to the economic and geopolitical effects of unconventional oil and gas development in North America . That shift he characterized as an evolution from “ BRIC to shale .”
From that high point , the last hundred pages of the book seem bolted on . They are a sprint through several current buzzy topics such as electric and autonomous vehicles , and robotics . It ’ s as if the author , or his publisher , felt he had to touch on a bunch of other hot issues just to prove how timely the book is . None get the same depth of treatment or contextual comprehension that are Yergin ’ s great strengths .
In all , it ’ s great to spend a few hours with the eminence gris of global energy and geopolitics . There is good insight and broad context , for which Yergin is renowned , and some splendid sections even if the whole in this case is a bit less than the sum of the parts .
Gregory DL Morris is an independent business journalist , principal of Enterprise & Industry Historic Research ( www . enterpriseandindustry . com ) and an active member of the Museum ’ s editorial board .
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