Book & podcast collection

How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going

byVaclav Smil

Vaclav Smil explains the material and energetic foundations of modern civilization: food production, fossil fuels, electricity, steel, cement, plastics, transportation, and global trade. Using quantitative evidence, he shows how deeply affluent societies depend on systems that cannot be replaced instantly by slogans or software. The book challenges both catastrophic pessimism and effortless optimism about climate and technological transition. Smil asks readers to think in scales, rates, efficiencies, and physical constraints, providing a grounded account of how the world actually operates and why changing it will require sustained, practical transformation.

Publisher

Penguin Publishing Group

Publication date

2022

Format

Print edition

Pages

—

ISBN

9780593297063