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"A Declaration of Energy Independence" by Jay Hakes. Wiley. 252 pages. $27.95.

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Botton line: Evenhanded and insightful history.

Jay Hakes' first book, "A Declaration of Energy Independence," is a compelling tutorial for anyone seeking to understand the geopolitical forces that have America over a barrel of oil.

A former head of the Energy Information Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy under President Bill Clinton, Hakes researched government records —- including declassified White House documents, press reports and data from the American Automobile Association —- to write a fact-filled but very readable analysis of America's energy policy and its impacts since the Eisenhower Administration.

But Hakes, director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta since 2000, shows no favorites: He gives praise and criticism to Democrats and Republicans alike. He calls the Clinton years the "lost decade" for energy policy.

The first half of the book explains the factors that led to long gas lines and rationing in the 1970s, record-low prices in 1998, and today's volatile oil market. He makes the case that the United States, after losing its energy independence in 1970, regained it by 1980 and held on to it until 1997, thanks to a combination of government policies, Alaskan oil production coming on line, and deregulation.

In the second half, Hakes details seven ways the United States can win back energy independence. They include storing more emergency oil reserves and replacing payroll taxes for Social Security with higher gas taxes to keep demand low. He lauds work being done in Georgia to manufacture cellulosic ethanol, a gasoline additive made from wood, and the foresight of Ray Anderson, chairman of Interface Inc., an Atlanta-based tile company that has reduced its greenhouse emissions by 60 percent.

Disappointingly, Hakes discusses but does not offer strong opinions on two of today's hottest topics, whether to open now-closed areas, including the Georgia coast, to offshore drilling and whether to tax the windfall profits of oil companies.

In one of the more interesting chapters of the book, "Blood and Treasure: The Heavy Cost of Dependence," his research demonstrates what he says should be obvious: U.S. involvement in Iraq in 1990 and again in 2003 through today was predicated on oil and the need to maintain access to Persian Gulf supplies.

"The planning at the highest levels for allocating Iraq's oil fields before the 9/11 attacks makes it difficult to credibly deny the connection between oil and the price subsequently paid to fight the war there," Hakes writes.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Jay Hakes discusses "A Declaration of Energy Independence" 7 p.m. Thursday (reception at 6 p.m.) at the Margaret Mitchell House, 990 Peachtree St. N.E. Atlanta. $10, members free. 404-249-7015, www.gwtw.org.