Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of over forty books on topics including energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, risk assessment, and public policy. No other living scientist has had more books (on a wide variety of topics) reviewed in Nature. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, in 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers.>
There is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil'' Bill Gatesbr>br>Is flying dangerous? How much do the world''s cows weigh? And what makes people happy?br>br>From earth''s nations and inhabitants, through the fuels and foods that energize them, to the transportation and inventions of our modern world - and how all of this affects the planet itself - in Numbers Don''t Lie, Professor Vaclav Smil takes us on a fact-finding adventure, using surprising statistics and illuminating graphs to challenge lazy thinking.br>br>Packed with ''Well-I-never-knew-that'' information and with fascinating and unusual examples throughout, we find out how many people it took to build the Great Pyramid, that vaccination yields the best return on investment, and why electric cars aren''t as great as we think (yet). There''s a wonderful mix of science, history and wit, all in bite-sized chapters on a broad range of topics.br>br>Urgent and essential, Numbers Don''t Lie inspires readers to interrogate what they take to be true in these significant times. Smil is on a mission to make facts matter, because after all, numbers may not lie, but which truth do they convey?br>br>''He is rigorously numeric, using data to illuminate every topic he writes about. The word "polymath" was invented to describe people like him'' Bill Gatesbr>br>''Important'' Mark Zuckerberg, on Energybr>br>''One of the world''s foremost thinkers on development history and a master of statistical analysis . . . The nerd''s nerd'' Guardianbr>br>''There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil'' Guardianbr>br>''He''s a slayer of bullshit'' David Keith, Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics & Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University>
We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don''t know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check - because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts.br>br>In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn''t inevitable - the perils of allowing 70 per cent of the world''s rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020 - and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, making their complete and rapid elimination unlikely. For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato requires the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel oil for its production, and we still lack any commercially viable ways of making steel, ammonia, cement or plastics at required global scales without fossil fuels. br>br>Vaclav Smil is neither a pessimist nor an optimist, he is a scientist; he is the world-leading expert on energy and an astonishing polymath. This is his magnum opus and is a continuation of his quest to make facts matter. Drawing on the latest science, including his own fascinating research, and tackling sources of misinformation head on - from Yuval Noah Harari to Noam Chomsky - ultimately Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary masterpiece finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future.>
A systematic investigation of growth in nature and society, from tiny organisms to the trajectories of empires and civilizations. Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of microorganisms and galaxies; it shapes the capabilities of our extraordinarily large brains and the fortunes of our economies. Growth is manifested in annual increments of continental crust, a rising gross domestic product, a child''s growth chart, the spread of cancerous cells. In this magisterial book, Vaclav Smil offers systematic investigation of growth in nature and society, from tiny organisms to the trajectories of empires and civilizations. Smil takes readers from bacterial invasions through animal metabolisms to megacities and the global economy. He begins with organisms whose mature sizes range from microscopic to enormous, looking at disease-causing microbes, the cultivation of staple crops, and human growth from infancy to adulthood. He examines the growth of energy conversions and man-made objects that enable economic activities--developments that have been essential to civilization. Finally, he looks at growth in complex systems, beginning with the growth of human populations and proceeding to the growth of cities. He considers the challenges of tracing the growth of empires and civilizations, explaining that we can chart the growth of organisms across individual and evolutionary time, but that the progress of societies and economies, not so linear, encompasses both decline and renewal. The trajectory of modern civilization, driven by competing imperatives of material growth and biospheric limits, Smil tells us, remains uncertain.
We have never had so much information at our fingertips, and yet until recently we lived our hermetically-sealed lives at a distance from the complex realities of the physical world. But crises strip away the covers of obfuscation and misdirection to reveal truths. Any ideas of human supremacy were dashed by Covid-19; it was a stark reminder of our limited grasp on reality. If we are to successfully navigate our uncertain future, understanding the inner workings of our modern world is vital.br>br> Professor Vaclav Smil is not a pessimist or an optimist, he is a scientist. Championing a rational fact-based approach - and on topics ranging from food production and nutrition, through energy and the environment, to globalization and the future - Smil shows, for example, how our food is inexorably linked to the massive combustion of fossil fuels, that globalization is much older than you think (but not inevitable), and why from horse riding to solar flares we consistently miscalculate risk.br>br> Tackling sources of misinformation head on - from Yuval Noah Harari to Gwyneth Paltrow - he addresses the most consequential of all contemporary questions: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? He explains faults with both extremes. Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, How the World Really Works draws on half a century of Smil''s own research and distils the ideas of his over forty books into one peerlessly authoritative yet accessible masterpiece.>
A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today''s fossil fuel-driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next ''Star Wars'' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History , he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans'' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. --Bill Gates, Gates Notes , Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows--ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity--for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today''s fossil fuel-driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts--from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity''s energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil''s Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.
The first systematic, quantitative appraisal of power density, offering detailed reviews of power densities of renewable energy flows, fossil fuels, and all common energy uses. "There''s no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil." --Bill Gates In this book, Vaclav Smil argues that power density is a key determinant of the nature and dynamics of energy systems. Any understanding of complex energy systems must rely on quantitative measures of many fundamental variables. Power density--the rate of energy flux per unit of area--is an important but largely overlooked measure. Smil provides the first systematic, quantitative appraisal of power density, offering detailed reviews of the power densities of renewable energy flows, fossil fuels, thermal electricity generation, and all common energy uses. Smil shows that careful quantification, critical appraisals, and revealing comparisons of power densities make possible a deeper understanding of the ways we harness, convert, and use energies. Conscientious assessment of power densities, he argues, proves particularly revealing when contrasting the fossil fuel-based energy system with renewable energy conversions. Smil explains that modern civilization has evolved as a direct expression of the high power densities of fossil fuel extraction. He argues that our inevitable (and desirable) move to new energy arrangements involving conversions of lower-density renewable energy sources will require our society--currently dominated by megacities and concentrated industrial production--to undergo a profound spatial restructuring of its energy system.
B>"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author."--Bill Gatesbr>;br>An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible--a scientist''s investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish./b>br>br>We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us dont know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. b>/b>From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check--because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts.br>;br>In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isnt inevitable--the foolishness of allowing 70 per cent of the worlds rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020--and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, such that any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale.;For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato has the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel embedded in its production, and we have no way of producing steel, cement or plastics at required scales without huge carbon emissions.br>;br>Ultimately, Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary guide finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future.
B>"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author Numbers Don''t Lie takes everything that makes his writing great and boils it down into an easy-to-read format. I unabashedly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning."--Bill Gates, GatesNotesbr>br>An essential guide to understanding how numbers reveal the true state of our world--exploring a wide range of topics including energy, the environment, technology, transportation, and food production./b>br>br>Vaclav Smil''s mission is to make facts matter. An environmental scientist, policy analyst, and a hugely prolific author, he is Bill Gates'' go-to guy for making sense of our world. In Numbers Don''t Lie, Smil answers questions such as: What''s worse for the environment--your car or your phone? How much do the world''s cows weigh (and what does it matter)? And what makes people happy? br>br>From data about our societies and populations, through measures of the fuels and foods that energize them, to the impact of transportation and inventions of our modern world--and how all of this affects the planet itself--in Numbers Don''t Lie, Vaclav Smil takes us on a fact-finding adventure, using surprising statistics and illuminating graphs to challenge conventional thinking. Packed with fascinating information and memorable examples, Numbers Don''t Lie reveals how the US is leading a rising worldwide trend in chicken consumption, that vaccination yields the best return on investment, and why electric cars aren''t as great as we think (yet). Urgent and essential, with a mix of science, history, and wit--all in bite-sized chapters on a broad range of topics--Numbers Don''t Lie inspires readers to interrogate what they take to be true.
There is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil'' Bill Gatesbr>br>Is flying dangerous? How much do the world''s cows weigh? And what makes people happy?br>br>From earth''s nations and inhabitants, through the fuels and foods that energize them, to the transportation and inventions of our modern world - and how all of this affects the planet itself - in Numbers Don''t Lie, Professor Vaclav Smil takes us on a fact-finding adventure, using surprising statistics and illuminating graphs to challenge lazy thinking.br>br>Packed with ''Well-I-never-knew-that'' information and with fascinating and unusual examples throughout, we find out how many people it took to build the Great Pyramid, that vaccination yields the best return on investment, and why electric cars aren''t as great as we think (yet). There''s a wonderful mix of science, history and wit, all in bite-sized chapters on a broad range of topics.br>br>Urgent and essential, Numbers Don''t Lie inspires readers to interrogate what they take to be true in these significant times. Smil is on a mission to make facts matter, because after all, numbers may not lie, but which truth do they convey?br>br>''He is rigorously numeric, using data to illuminate every topic he writes about. The word "polymath" was invented to describe people like him'' Bill Gatesbr>br>''Important'' Mark Zuckerberg, on Energybr>br>''One of the world''s foremost thinkers on development history and a master of statistical analysis . . . The nerd''s nerd'' Guardianbr>br>''There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil'' Guardianbr>br>''In a world of specialized intellectuals, Smil is an ambitious and astonishing polymath who swings for fences . . . They''re among the most data-heavy books you''ll find, with a remarkable way of framing basic facts'' Wiredbr>br>''Vaclav Smil has led a 30-year career of interdisciplinary contrarianism, writing hundreds of scientific articles and dozens of books attacking sacred cows of Western environmental and geopolitical thought'' Foreign Policybr>br>''For a couple of decades, Vaclav Smil has been on my go-to list when questions arise about global trends and risks, and particularly about energy. He is a distinguished professor on the environment faculty at the University of Manitoba but really should be in the department of everything'' Andrew Revkin, The New York Timesbr>br>''One of the world''s foremost experts on energy'' Foreign Affairsbr>br>''An author who does not allow facts to be obscured or overshadowed by politics'' New York Review of Booksbr>br>''The man who has quietly shaped how the world thinks about energy'' Science Magazinebr>br>''A radical thinker on energy and environmental issues'' Financial Timesbr>br>''He''s a slayer of bullshit'' David Keith, Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics & Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Universitybr>br>Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of over forty books on topics including energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, risk assessment and public policy. No other living scientist has had more books (on a wide variety of topics) reviewed in Nature. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, in 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. This is his first book for a more general readership.>
From the New York Times-bestselling author, a new volume on the history of human ingenuity-and its attendant breakthroughs and busts.
The world is never finished catching up with Vaclav Smil. In his latest and perhaps most readable book, Invention and Innovation, the prolific author-a favorite of Bill Gates-pens an insightful and fact-filled jaunt through the history of human invention. Impatient with the hype that so often accompanies innovation, Smil offers in this book a clear-eyed corrective to the overpromises that accompany everything from new cures for diseases to AI. He reminds us that even after we go quite far along the invention-development-application trajectory, we may never get anything real to deploy. Or worse, even after we have succeeded by introducing an invention, its future may be marked by underperformance, disappointment, demise, or outright harm.
Drawing on his vast breadth of scientific and historical knowledge, Smil explains the difference between invention and innovation. He then looks at three different types of inventions.
Inventions that failed to dominate as promised:
Airships.
Nuclear fission.
Supersonic flight.
Inventions that turned disastrous:
Leaded gasoline.
DDT.
Chlorofluorocarbons.
Inventions we have long been promised (and that would be highly beneficial):
Travel in vacuum (hyperloop).
Nitrogen-fixing cereals.
Nuclear fusion.
Finally, he offers a «wish list» of inventions that we most urgently need to confront the staggering challenges of the twenty-first century.
Filled with engaging examples and pragmatic approaches, this book is a sobering account of the folly that so often attends human ingenuity-and how we can, and must, better align our expectations with reality.
