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 ener...
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Literary Form
21 Results
"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...
In this myth-busting book, a scientist investigates why big food-producing countries also have the most undernourished populations; why food goes to waste and how to prevent it; whether the planet could and should go vegan; and how to feed a growing population without killing the...
"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. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't kn...
"To answer the most important questions of our age, we must understand size. Neither bacteria nor empires are immune to its laws. Measuring it is challenging, especially where complex systems like economies are concerned, yet mastering it offers rich rewards: the rise of the West...
"The modern world was created through the combination and complex interactions of five grand transitions. First, the demographic transition changed the total numbers, dynamics, structure, and residential pattern of populations. The agricultural and dietary transition led to the e...
"Smil presents the long history and modern infatuation with invention and innovation. Meticulous as always, these vast realms of human ingenuity are organized into sensible categories: inventions that went from welcome to undesirable, inventions that dominate and missed the mark,...
"The modern world was created through the combination and complex interactions of five grand transitions. First, the demographic transition changed the total numbers, dynamics, structure, and residential pattern of populations. The agricultural and dietary transition led to the e...
"Smil presents the long history and modern infatuation with invention and innovation. Meticulous as always, these vast realms of human ingenuity are organized into sensible categories: inventions that went from welcome to undesirable, inventions that dominate and missed the mark,...
"Smil presents the long history and modern infatuation with invention and innovation. Meticulous as always, these vast realms of human ingenuity are organized into sensible categories: inventions that went from welcome to undesirable, inventions that dominate and missed the mark,...
Sheds light on the science behind global warming and the efforts to prevent it, and explains how our daily decisions affect energy consumption. Whether you're looking for dinner table conversation or to further your own understanding, this book will amaze and inform, uncovering t...
"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. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't kn...
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...