Originally published during the early part of the twentieth century, the Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature were designed to provide concise introductions to a broad range of topics. They were written by experts for the general reader and combined a comprehensive approach to knowledge with an emphasis on accessibility. Published in 1913, Natural Sources of Energy by A. H. Gibson is a foresighted investigation into the problem of sustainable energy. It offers a glimpse of early scientific views of how fossil fuels, wind, water and solar power could be used to create energy.