Work done by Polish scientists in the early 1800s laid down the foundations of the modern oil industry.

An industry tendency to resort to overly complicated modelling and simulation software is being challenged in the existing low oil-price environment. Some are now utilising low-cost solutions, highlighting the fundamentals of reservoir theory and returning to proven analytical tools.

As professionals we tend to become engaged in specialized fields and projects, and thus have less and less time to refresh our knowledge of general geology. Reading about the progress made and prospects of new findings in our science can also be fun.

Appreciating Physical Landscapes: Three Hundred Years of Geotourism, edited by T. A. Hose. Geological Society, London.

A new book on the history of the upstream petroleum industry is itself a groundbreaker in a fascinating field.

The BBC continues its mission of energy education with good results.

The End of Country: Dispatches from the Frack Zone Author: Seamus McGraw Hardcover: 2011 Paperback: Random House (2012)

Regular contributor Nikki Jones reviews the book that claims to explain 'why humanity’s use of fossil fuels is actually a healthy, moral choice.'

How can the media best engage the public on fossil fuels? Documentary or drama? The BBC has been attempting both.

Atlas of the Geological History of the Barents Sea Editors : Morten Smelror, Oleg V. Petrov, Geir Birger Larssen and Stephanie C. Werner. Geological Survey of Norway, 2009.

The story of the infamous Koch brothers is both riveting and cringe-inducing, a painful confirmation of everything your mother told you about the evils of money, its power to destroy families and corrupt the soul. (Sons of Wichita, Daniel Schulman, Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group.)

Shale Gas and Fracking: The Science Behind The Controversy Michael Stevenson. Elsevier, 2015

Buraimi: The Struggle for Power, Influence and Oil in Arabia, Michael Quentin Morton. I.B. Taurus (2013)

A new website celebrates the bicentenary of the first geological map of England and Wales in 1815.