in crossing the Atlantic.) The authorsnthink that the high rates of consumptionnof supplies and of destruction of materialnwould enforce a short war. But whilenthat may mean that campaigns wouldnbe short, it does not guarantee thatnwars will be. Third, the Soviets mightnintroduce tactical nuclear weapons, calculatingnthat a surprise attack wouldngive them victory, and that the Westnwould be unwilling to use strategic nuclearnweapons. Fourth, and worst, thenSoviets, if really bold, or absolutelyndesperate, might launch a full-scalennuclear “counterforce” attack againstnthe Western powers. The authors’ failurento discuss the strategic nuclear balancenis one of the main failings of thenbook. There are also many improbabilitiesnin the postwar era they depict, butnthat is so speculative that it seems hardlynworth criticizing. However, it seemsnwildly unlikely that Germany wouldnremain divided if the Soviets were expellednfrom Eastern Europe. Except innthe event of a genuine revolutionarynupheaval, as opposed to the intra-Partyncoup they depict, it is unlikely that thenThe Untold TellernEdward Teller: Energy from Heavennand Earth; W. H. Freeman & Co.;nSan Francisco.nby H. Peter Metzgern1 here is no question but that futurenhistorians will be kind to EdwardnTeller, but that must be scant comfortnto him now. In yet another maliciousnsnub of their favorite bUe noire, Tellernand his latest book are being ignorednby America’s intelligentsia.nIn a time when any academic barsweep,nmerchandising antinuclear mendacity,ncan count on a bootlicking wel-nDr. Metzger is Manager of Public AffairsnPlanning for the Public ServicenCompany of Colorado.nSSBHHMHHHMnChronicles of CulturenSoviet Union would break up. If it did,nit would be far from the neat processnthey suggest.nXdowever, such criticisms do notndetract from the lessons implicit innThe Third World War. In fact, theynreinforce them. A conventional war innEurope, which our present weaknessnmay invite, would be even more dangerousnthan the authors suggest. Thenbest way to avoid it is to cure thatnweakness. Unfortunately it is hard tonbelieve that this will be done, thoughnit would not be difficult. Since the earlyn1950s it has always been perfectly possiblenfor Western Europe to constructndefenses capable of repelling any Sovietnattack, probably even without Americannhelp. Unfortunately the European governmentsnhave preferred to let Europeanndefenses and unity slide, while dependingnon a decaying American nuclearnsuperiority. The political maturity andnsavvy, in which Europeans have suchnboundless pride, may be in for somenhard testing in the years to come. Dncome by the talk-show whiz-bangs, andndemand a fawning review from any ofnthe country’s most respected newspapers,nwe are treated to the spectaclenof a book of authentic and enduringnquality languishing virtually unreviewednand attended only by those who looknelsewhere than the media for news ofnone of America’s most productive andninspired minds.nThe reasons are clear: while Teller’snbook addresses all of the important aspectsnof the nation’s energy problems,nit does so both accurately and nonideologically.nAccordingly, it does notnarrive at the trendy conclusions necessarynfor media acceptance today: thatnsolar is great and profit is bad, thatnoil companies are rip-off artists andnnuclear power is wicked. Moreover, thennnway Teller has of presenting technicalnmatters in ordinary language robsnhis opponents of their last excuse fornignorance on energy questions; what hensays is so accessible and understandablenthat all his foes can do is to denouncenlucidity as oversimplification.nThe book covers energy’s origins andnsources, from the cosmic to the comic,nfrom “Prometheus to the oil embargo.”nNaturally, Teller covers the normalnshopping list to be expected in an energynbook (oil, coal, nuclear, fusion, solar)nand even “Plans and Policies” for thenfuture. But what I find most absorbingnare his incidental observations alongnthe way. They are not only entertainingnbut stimulating, one of the treats to benfound in the contemporary observationsnmade by a brilliant man.nDid you know that “when the firstnman built the first fire on earth, thensolar energy that is reaching us now hadnalready been produced and was on itsnway from the center of the sun towardnits surface?”nI have always wondered how geologyncan explain how some natural gas reservoirsngot as deep as they are, consideringnthat they all are supposed to be of biologicalnorigin. I also knew that naturalngas-like compounds are present in extraterrestrialnspace and are thought to beninvolved in the planet-forming processes.nTeller combines these facts withnthe suggestion that natural gas of nonbiologicalnorigin may have been formednin huge quantities early in the evolutionnof our planet. Thus, some of our deepernnatural gas deposits might better benexplained by thinking of them as beingnconnected with vulcanism than with thenremnants of life usually found in sedimentaryndeposits.nTeller then makes the following observation:n”If this view is correct,nnatural gas might turn out to be in muchnmore ample supply than we now suspect,nproviding we look for it in thenright places.” In other words, if we drillndeep enough, natural gas reservoirs ofnnonbiological origin might be discoverednwhich would be so enormous thatn