Book review: How the World Really Works, by Vaclav Smil
Whilst anyone who's read Vaclav Smil's previous titles would be surprised to find his latest title on the Popular Science shelves, his latest title is simply that. Smil's professional title is Distinguished Emeritus Professor, and he's an environmental scientist. His previous works comprise a tall pile of the most in-depth books on energy and climate science available, plus hundreds of peer-reviewed papers in top-flight academic journals. Though this belies the fact that he's evidently very capable of writing a book that's assessible to anyone with a university education - and probably many without. The subtitle of this book - A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future - sums up nicely why I recommend it to you, whether or not you consider yourself scientifically knowledgeable. I have a healthy scepticism for the quotes chosen to adorn book jackets, though having read it cover to cover, a couple on this title's cover ring very true to me: ...