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A review by jasonfurman
How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future by Vaclav Smil
4.0
The best of this book is astoundingly good--particularly the first several chapters on energy, foods and what Vaclav Smil calls the four pillars of the modern world (cement, steel, plastic and ammonia). As it went on, however, to topics like globalization, viruses, diets, and more, it felt a little bit more listy, in some cases obvious, and I was occasionally annoyed by Vaclav Smil's somewhat smug tone of condescension towards just about everyone else who thinks about these issues.
Smil's strength is he looks at how things work as a whole, using large numbers to capture the massive amounts of energy we use, how that energy is turned into food, alternatives for the sources of it. If you ask people what is essential to the modern world that we couldn't live without many would probably say microchips, but Smil points out we got pretty far as a civilization without them--but that without cement, steel, plastic and ammonia we could not have anything resembling modern cities, health care, ability to feed the world, and more.
Overall Smil is not particularly specific about policy but is a pragmatist whose message is that it will be impossible to make radical transformations anytime soon, whether those transformations are the cessation of fossil fuels or shifting to urban agriculture. A lot of his thinking and arguing is a little bit more total analysis ("cannot entirely get rid of blank") than marginal analysis ("the cost of getting rid of some of blank is less than the benefit").
Overall I do recommend it--but if you just read the first half you'll get most of the benefit.
Smil's strength is he looks at how things work as a whole, using large numbers to capture the massive amounts of energy we use, how that energy is turned into food, alternatives for the sources of it. If you ask people what is essential to the modern world that we couldn't live without many would probably say microchips, but Smil points out we got pretty far as a civilization without them--but that without cement, steel, plastic and ammonia we could not have anything resembling modern cities, health care, ability to feed the world, and more.
Overall Smil is not particularly specific about policy but is a pragmatist whose message is that it will be impossible to make radical transformations anytime soon, whether those transformations are the cessation of fossil fuels or shifting to urban agriculture. A lot of his thinking and arguing is a little bit more total analysis ("cannot entirely get rid of blank") than marginal analysis ("the cost of getting rid of some of blank is less than the benefit").
Overall I do recommend it--but if you just read the first half you'll get most of the benefit.