jdongweck writes in to say:

Your post about the BP oil find in the Gulf is the perfect chance for me to recommend this book. It concerns the vast amounts of energy available in the world, and how we will go about harnessing it. It also discusses how drilling 100 feet 100 years ago cost about the same per barrel as it does now to drill 35,000 feet. One of the first things early coal mines did upon mining coal was to use that coal to mine 'even more coal' Or something to that effect.

THE BOTTOMLESS WELL
The Twilight Of Fuel, The Virtue Of Waste, And Why We Will Never Run Out Of Energy

By Peter Huber and Mark P. Mills