A Voyage Across an Ancient Ocean
A Bicycle Journey Through the Northern Dominion of Oil

Fast reading book that is partly about a rather epic bicycle ride, partly about the state of oil production in the northern United States and central Canada, and partly about the threat hydrocarbon production and use poses to global climate. The author decided to ride his bike from the oil sands of......more

A scientist biking through a landscape forever altered by climate change and writing about it. Goodrich would be a great travel writer if the topic would not be both concerning and infuriating. I used to have a fascination with ghost towns, especially those that were abandoned during the gold rush. I......more

I latched onto this book hoping to get a feel for the bicycle journey (subtitle) across Alberta, Saskatchewan and North Dakota, but came away disappointed. Nearly the same story could have been told without referencing his bike ride, though his encounters after a 60-mile ride with roughnecks and dri......more

3.5 stars. Disappointing. Goodrich is a retired climate scientist who also likes going on marathon bike rides. So he combined the two by going on a bike trip through North America's oil sands territory: from northern Alberta to North Dakota, over a thousand miles. But it reads more like a travelogue......more

The author’s bike trip kept me engaged while he delivered doses of views on climate change as both a scientist and a person with an understanding of out right denial from those who make a living in fossil fuels. Explanation of how these oil deposits exist, the process of extraction, to the costs of......more