Praise for Harvest the Wind

“Phil Warburg has written the definitive book on wind power. He writes with equal lucidity and insight about the life of Kansas wind farmers and the byzantine complexities of federal energy policy. This is a ‘must read’ for anyone who wants to understand the promise and challenge of building the clean energy economy of the future.”

— U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (ret.), former chair, House Energy and Commerce Committee

“Combining graceful prose, analytical rigor, and colorful characters, Harvest the Wind portrays the excitement of a new industry. Much more than just an exploration of the prospects for wind energy, though, Harvest takes us along on the author’s journey through the American heartland in search of the nation’s soul, and its future.”

— Denis Hayes, national coordinator of the first Earth Day, former director of the Solar Energy Research Institute

“Ensuring future energy security requires a revolution in our energy thinking. In revolutions, there are winners and losers, and in the global arena there is no doubt that wind will be one of the winners. Warburg provides a vivid portrait of an industry that is quickly proving itself as a model for international collaboration in reducing our dependence on non-renewable energy sources.”

— Professor Katherine Richardson, Chair, Danish Commission on Climate Change Policy

“At a time when America faces growing energy, economic, environmental and national security uncertainties, we need to tap into our core national heritage of self-reliance and turn challenge into opportunity. With Harvest the Wind, Philip Warburg presents a compelling account of real people doing just that. This is the story about our own Greatest Generation creating the victory gardens of the twenty-first Century with clean, renewable energy.”

— Dennis V. McGinn, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (ret.), president and CEO, American Council on Renewable Energy

Reviews for Harvest the Wind

“Renewable-energy champion Philip Warburg offers a detailed, unified, well-researched report on wind power and the contributions it can make to America’s energy future…. [H]e presents his case for wind power with persuasive facts and figures, as well as careful reasoning and a good dose of passion…. [H]e has an argument to make, and he makes it vividly, in hopes that his inspirational report will persuade even ardent fossil-fuel and nuclear-energy advocates to harness America’s wind-power potential.”

— getAbstract, July 2013

“[W]ritten in an attractive storytelling style….  A useful acquisition for libraries, both technical and nontechnical, whose patrons are interested in green/renewable energy sources.”

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, Nov. 2012, Vol. 50 No. 03

“The stories Warburg tells are compelling—and they should inspire readers of Harvest the Wind to tell their lawmakers to lose the coal subsidies and use them to help us all “harvest the wind.” .

— Francesca Rheannon on CSRwire Talkback; for the full review, see August’s Summer Reading for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Afficionados [August 2, 2012]

“Bringing a realistic view of wind’s future, its opposition, and the rough road it has ahead to make a difference, Harvest the Wind is a fine read on the potential of wind power, very much recommended.”

Midwest Book Review, June 2012

Open this link for the full text of “The Wind at Our Backs,” a review of Harvest the Wind in Science magazine, May 11, 2012.

“Warburg’s book looks at communities, most rural and many hardscrabble, that have seen a resurgence of farming, manufacturing and entrepreneurial spirit due to an upsurge in wind technology. Some of the communities in the book were hit hard during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s and, frankly, never fully recovered. But by harnessing the one thing they have in quantity—wind—they’ve found the energy to drive economic revival.”

Cape Cod Times, April 22, 2012

“Warburg’s work takes readers to the human level, where wind power is making a real difference, and provides inspirational examples for other communities to follow.”

Booklist, February 15, 2012

“This text will appeal to the idealist and the environmental warrior, providing fuel for wind-power advocates by doing a hefty amount of . . . footwork for them.”

Library Journal, February 1, 2012

“Warburg’s attitude toward the probability of energy independence is optimistic and his knowledge extensive.”

Publishers Weekly, January 2, 2012