I learned about peak oil in 1997 when I read an article in Futurist magazine. I started reading the literature, including non-fiction by Kenneth Deffeyes, Jim Kunstler, Richard Heinberg, and others. One would think that with cheap oil starting to run out someone would be out there doiong something. Instead, most analysts, economists, and politicians are saying we have plenty of oil for the next few decades. This annoyed me because I was seeing oil slack dwindling and oil prices rising during the Double-Zero decade. Apparently these authors were having no effect on public attitudes, although politicians and the media were going haywire over the issue of global warming.
People read a lot of novels, so maybe a novel is a better way of doing it. Jim Kunstler tried it first with "World Made by Hand". However, he described a post-apocalypse world in which Route NY 29 was a dirt road, electricity was on only 30 minutes each day, and so forth. People can't relate to this because such a doomsday world is not their world. I couldn't. So far I have read only two chapters.
Now comes Kurt Cobb with his novel "Prelude". The world he describes is pretty much as we were living it, in the year 2008. There were Metros, limos, cars, and all the comforts of modern life, including fancy restaurants. The story is about an oil analyst named, probably alludingly, Cassandra. As she lives her life, I can see many things in common with my life - working in a cubicle doing analysis, having dates with the opposite sex, enjoying summer evenings, and so forth. It is something we can relate to. I can relate to it; I have already read the complete book. The story is about how Cassandra found out about a secret about oil supplies that had dire implications for the world, and about the intrigue that resulted when people find out that she found out about it. It has an interesting ending; I will say no more than say that the ultimate things that can be done about peak oil we need to do ourselves in our personal life.
I would encourage as many people as possible to read this book, and I hope it enters the limelight of network TV news. It may be the best way for the general public to find out about peak oil.