Charged: A History of Batteries and Lessons for a Clean Energy Future

"An eminently readable, elegantly precise treatise on the topic of batteries."

Science

"An enjoyable and accessible book...Many readers may be susceptible to the trap of wide-eyed idealism in terms of environmental activism and the 'clean energy future' Turner discusses in this book. He strikes a great balance between optimism and pessimism on that front; he puts a lot of things into historical and highly realistic perspective. In doing so, he provides a roadmap for people who actually want to achieve a clean energy future, pointing to the pitfalls previous engineers fell into or carved themselves, and advising how to learn from those mistakes and forge ahead."

H-Environment (H-Net)

"Engrossing and sobering, Charged is essential reading for anyone concerned about environment, energy, and the sustainable future."

H-Sci-Med-Tech (H-Net)

"The book provides readers with a valuable history of battery technology, the interdependency of batteries and the environment, and the challenge (and perhaps impossibility) of just energy transition policies."

Environmental History

"[A] careful and scrupulously referenced historical account of an important object: where [the battery] came from, its evolving influences on society, and where it might be taking us. . . . No one who thinks seriously about our energy future should neglect either Turner?s warnings or his hopes."

Literary Review of Canada