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'There is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil' Bill Gates
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We have never had so much information at our fingertips, yet most of us don't know how the world works. This book explains seven 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.
In this ambitious and thought-provoking book, we see, for example, that globalization isn't inevitable - the perils of allowing 70 percent of the world's rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly apparent 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 on the scale required globally without fossil fuels.
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 a continuation of his quest to make facts matter. Drawing on the latest science, including his 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 how we see our past, present, and uncertain future.
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'Very informative and eye-opening in many ways' Ha-Joon Chang, author of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism
'If you are anxious about the future and infuriated that we aren't doing enough about it, please read this book' Paul Collier, author of The Future of Capitalism