The U.S. is the largest consumer of oil in the world, but its domestic production can't meet the country's oil needs. The choice to drill offshore remains controversial, and this balanced title in the Compact Research: Energy and the Environment series offers students a starting place for looking at both sides of the debate. The straightforward text begins with a brief history of America's offshore drilling, from the first oil rigs off the coast of California at the turn of the twentieth century to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. The bulk of the text focuses on four areas of concern: whether the U.S. needs to drill offshore, potential environmental risks, the adequacy of drilling regulations, and the future of offshore drilling. Following each section are primary source quotes, key facts, and connected maps, charts, and graphs. Although the book only includes two photographs, extensive back matter includes a chronology, a bibliography, source notes, related organizations, and key people and advocacy groups. The best feature is providing enough information for students to make their own informed decisions.

These volumes provide overviews of various issues related to energy and the environment from multiple points of view. Though the information is fairly timely (Drilling touches on 2010's BP disaster), it can be difficult to follow, with pull-quotes, graphs, and charts crowding the texts. Primary source quotes lack context, making it difficult to judge their validity. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind.