| Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future | 
 enlarge | Author: Greg Melville
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $6.99
You Save: $8.96 (56%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (6 reviews)
Sales Rank: 16994
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 257
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.8
ISBN: 1565125959
Dewey Decimal Number: 333.720922
EAN: 9781565125957
ASIN: 1565125959
Publication Date: October 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Is it possible to drive coast-to-coast without stopping at a single gas pump? Journalist Greg Melville is determined to try. With his college buddy Iggy riding shotgun, this green-thinking guy?who's in love with the idea of free fuel?sets out on an enlightening road trip. The quest: to be the first people to drive cross-country in a french-fry car. Will they make it from Vermont to California in a beat-up 1985 Mercedes diesel station wagon powered on vegetable oil collected from restaurant grease Dumpsters along the way? More important, can two guys survive 192 consecutive hours together?
Their expedition on and off the road includes visits to the solar-powered Google headquarters; the National Ethanol Council; the wind turbines of southwestern Minnesota; the National Renewable Energy Lab; a visit to one of the first houses to receive platinum certification for leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); an "eco-friendly" Wal-Mart; and the world's largest geothermal heating system.
Part adventure and part investigation of what we're doing (or not doing) to preserve the planet, Greasy Rider is upbeat, funny, and full of surprising information about sustainable measures that are within our reach.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Iggy for President, 2012. November 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future
While I thought the premise was hysterical, and had the "Odd Couple" theme song playing in my head for most of chapter 1, the real hero in this book has to be Iggy. Where does a 35-year old (plus) journalist/dad/environmentalist find a buddy who has the technical skills to make a Deisel engine on alternative fuels work AND install a high-tech sound system? The Kenyon Alumni directory, of course!
I loved this book for the real way the author breaks complex concepts in biology, physics, agriculture and economics down to terms a fellow English major can grasp. I love the way our beautiful country must look when you are myopically focused on signs for burrito joints. I love Greg's wife, and praise her for her restraint when blunt objects were around, as the idea was presented in the kitchen. I felt like I was in the room, and a little bit uncomfortable about it.
In an odd way, though, this is as much a book about buddies as it is a "man(kind) vs. nature" piece. Perhaps because in this one, we want nature to win. It is Nature's turn. Greg shows us how, without killing your television.
If you can't move to Vermont, buy the book.
 Greasy but Not Heavy November 16, 2008
Author Greg Melville and his friend Iggy set out to travel across America in a car powered almost exclusively by used cooking oil. Part travelogue and part update on America's efforts to move beyond fossil fuel, Melville balances the two effectively and manages the mild suspense inherent in all books like this where readers wonder if the travelers will reach their goal.
This is a quick, easy read and the best parts are where Melville meets with leading thinkers on the alternatives to fossil fuel including forward-thinking companies like Google, and engineer Lee Lynd, whose company is looking to revolutionize the method used to produce ethanol.
Overall Greasy Rider is a good effort that provides a layman's view of the daunting challenges we face along with some possible solutions.
Great selection for my book club November 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
We selected this book for my book club. We all agreed that the book was a great selection for our group. We are a bunch of moms with young children and do not have as much time to devote to reading as we would like. This book was able to keep our interest by being light and humorous while informing us about alternative energy at the same time. This was such a hit with our group, I would definitely recommend it for all book groups out there!
Reduce, Reuse, Refuel October 21, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was great! First of all, it was free, so that's always a bonus. But even if I had to pay for it, it would have been worth it.
Greg Melville wants a new truck. His wife wants something greener. Way greener. So he decides to get an old Mercedes with a diesel engine and convert it to run on old cooking oil. Then he gets inspired to take a road trip, using nothing but free recycled oil in his car. He calls up his old buddy Iggy and the two hit the road.
The title alone is a hint that this is bound to have some funny moments. The two friends get on each others nerves and kid each other like teenagers. The car breaks down with alarming regularity. Greg gets peed on by a dog. Stuff happens, and it's pretty funny stuff.
I also enjoyed the 'errands' - side trips that Greg takes to discover what else is being done in the Green Movement to make life on earth a little more sustainable. I felt cheered to see that there are a lot of people dedicated to making a difference, and some of these ideas are practical and affordable.
This was just a fun book and a good read. Way to go, Greg! Here's hoping that everyone who read this is inspired to make a few changes in their own lives.
The most fun I think I could ever have reading about alternative fuel October 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
GREASY RIDER by Greg Melville
Published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
ISBN: 978-1-56512-595-7
Take two men, a 1985 Mercedes diesel station wagon, a grease car conversion kit, and the first cross country automobile trip made by H. Nelson Jackson as inspiration, mix it all together and you have a funny, informative, and thought provoking look at the future energy independence of our nation.
One of the things I liked most about this book is that it did not preach any one environmental doctrine. There is never one answer to a problem as complex as the one facing our environment today. This book takes a good hard look at our attitudes and how they work to move us forward or hold as back in the "fossil fuel age". Not only does it give us a very humorous look at two men on a cross country trip and what it takes for them to make it without relying on anything but used fry oil. It also gives us a beautiful snapshot of out vast country and the way one answer in one region most likely is not the answer in another.
It looks at different philosophies from a place of inquiry. Finding the merits of each idea and trying to find a common ground and complete understanding of what a particular environmental philosophy is trying to really say.
The book switches back and forth from the actual road trip memoir to specific tasks designed to learn more about different ways to become more energy efficient. I liked this on the level that everything in the book was very interesting to read. On another level however I sometimes found this distracting and seemed to slow down my reading progress. Overall the information throughout was great. At the end of the book a comprehensive list of sources is offered to learn more about what was discussed in the book.
I would suggest this book to anyone, period. We must make changes in the way we live. We can no longer live with the illusion that life can continue as it presently does at the rate that we are consuming our natural resources. The best thing about this book is that it puts many ideas into perspective and how all of the little pieces fit together. I hope readers will embrace this book for everything that it offers. The more we as citizens of the earth explore what is going on around us the better the outcome for all of us.
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