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Energy and Civilization: A History (Mit Press) Paperback – November 13, 2018

by Vaclav Smil (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,080 ratings
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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 and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years.
—Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year


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 energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization.

Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.

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  1. Print length
    562 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The MIT Press
  4. Publication date
    November 13, 2018
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.44 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0262536161
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0262536165
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A wise, compassionate, and valuable book.—Foreign Affairs—

This is a book to excite not just admiration, but also passion. It is a literate and precise analysis of the evolution of human societies viewed through the lens of energy.

—Literary Review of Canada—

About the Author

Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of forty books, including Energy and Civilization, published by the MIT Press. In 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers. In 2013 Bill Gates wrote on his website that “there is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil."

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The MIT Press; Reprint edition (November 13, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 562 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0262536161
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0262536165
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.44 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,080 ratings

About the author

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Vaclav Smil

Vaclav Smil

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Vaclav Smil is currently a Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. He completed his graduate studies at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Carolinum University in Prague and at the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences of the Pennsylvania State University. His interdisciplinary research interests encompass a broad area of energy, environmental, food, population, economic, historical and public policy studies, and he had also applied these approaches to energy, food and environmental affairs of China.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (Science Academy) and the first non-American to receive the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology. He has been an invited speaker in more than 250 conferences and workshops in the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia and Africa, has lectured at many universities in North America, Europe and East Asia and has worked as a consultant for many US, EU and international institutions. His wife Eva is a physician and his son David is an organic synthetic chemist.

Official Website: www.vaclavsmil.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,080 global ratings
I can now see the Matrix
5 Stars
I can now see the Matrix
This book pulls back the cover on how this world really ticks. Access to energy is such a powerful driver of humanity's progress, so evaluating our history through the lens of energy is a fascinating ride to take. Read this one with a pen as each page contains worthwhile insights that you will want to draw upon. I'll be reading this more than once and will be passing it along to friends. Enjoy.
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Top reviews from the United States

Jeffrey L. Blackwell
5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect text for a history class about Science-Tech-Society as part of STEM curricula
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2020
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The best text for an undergrad history of energy that I could find in 1990s was 'In the Servitude of Power: Energy through the Ages' by three French, Marxist-influenced academics -- Deleage, Debeir, Hemery. At the time, as I pursued a Ph.D in Interdisciplinary Humanities at FSU with the goal of teaching STS (Science-Tech-Society) at a American Engineering or Architecture school, the Marxist slant was (and is) a taboo point-of-view. Smil does not punctuate his narrative with Marxist critiques at each stage of energy development, concluding that an Era of Renewable energy would require Marxist transformation of society. Certainly a transition from fossil fuels-based to renewable 'Green' tech-based energy has been slow in progressing in the 25 years that have passed (also I was never able to teach history of energy in history depts. as specialized intellectual history nor as STS coursework. I sincerely hope that Smil's less ideologically-driven narrative will be accepted at engineering schools as a much-needed antidote to the conservative view that the costs of transforming fossil-fuel techs is too great to bear. So instead, govt. policy impedes this transition by subsidizing coal & oil so long as these big political donors support politicians who do as they are told. Marxist or liberal bias aside, Europe has progressed toward renewables while the U S govt policy has staggered from pro-renewable to anti-green depending on the what PAC spends most on political ads.
Energy and Civiization reads more like a science text than intellectual history but this is ideal for STEM students.
For those who might wish a more historical approach to history of tech, check out Boorstin's The Americans: The Democratic Experience ( last of his trilogy). The title is misleading; this is history of U S tech from post- Civil War to 1970s. Wonderfully blends tech history with entertaining narrative, i.e. , oil wild-catting, rise of a statistically-measured society and insurers, etc.
With its broad sweep of energy development within world history, Smil could be specialized secondary text for a traditional World Civilization requirement. Also,for those who enjoyed this I'd recommend Diamond's Germs, Guns, and Steel from late 1990s -- it is an extraordinary synthesis of various scientific fields that explains the present-day dominance of science-based Western culture based on environmental circumstances and climate without depending upon racial biases which argue that caucasians are more intelligent than other races.
9 people found this helpful
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Eduardo Uribe
5.0 out of 5 stars Complete
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2023
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Rigorous, complete, well written, easy to read. A learning experience.
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Ron L
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful history, a unicorn hope for the future.
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is one of those books which should be widely read; a concise explanation of “energy” as relates to society beginning with terms and definitions which most people do not consider. Smil starts with the obvious (but often overlooked) statement that we on earth have no source of energy which is not provided by the sun in some form or another.
From there, we start with the calculations regarding the number of calories any human needs to get through the day; pretty basic and clearly explained values.
This is followed by the overall history of energy in human society, beginning with foraging and scavenging societies, using human muscle energy in more effective forms as a result of human reasoning; tools. Accompanied by (largely effective) sidebar notes, the narrative then progresses through the use of draft and ridden animal muscle, direct water and wind power, and then on to the use of ‘stored’ solar energy in the form of carbon and radioactive fuels, to the present. The fragility of society prior to modern use of those ‘stored’ sources is eye-opening and should serve as a corrective to anyone hoping to return to some romantic, pristine, autarky.
I’m sure this was not intended for the general audience; the terminology and notation suggests and requires a certain level of education. But at times Smil seems to change units of measure in what looks a bit of braggadocio. Joules, calories, watts, any will do, but switching back and forth requires mental gymnastics and introduces the chance of errors; there is no reason to make a book less understandable than the transfer of information requires.
Similarly, there is no reason for the pedantry regarding the phrase “Industrial Revolution”; I recall no one using the phrase to mean a ‘revolution’ in X years. As it was intended to mean a rapid change in many social arrangements, it was just that and is a useful shorthand for that phenomenon.
Disregarding such caviling, we are, at well-researched and well-argued length, presented with the uncontroversial fact that we are consuming carbon energy resources far beyond replacement rates and that use is resulting in environmental problems which could be very serious. Fortunately, the author is not given to hyperbole; those environmental problems are neither certain in time or severity.
But as Smil makes clear, there are really few alternatives. Our recent fantasies regarding wind or solar are never going to provide the energy surplus we currently enjoy, even if we had 100% battery storage technology. There is simply not enough ‘instant’ solar energy available to support the style to which we have become accustomed and others hope to achieve.
Citing some studies regarding ‘happiness’ vs wealth which I find far from convincing, the author seems to come down on the side of drastically reduced energy consumption. He never suggests coercion to achieve that end, but it’s doubtful that those who are used to luxury and those who quest for it are likely to voluntarily reduce that standard of living or the desire for it, regardless of Smil’s personal (righteous!) choice of a 1Kw automobile.
Begging to differ, I come down on the ‘let’s develop non-carbon energy’ side; nuclear. And if we are to prevent those possible environmental problems, we’d better get going on developing safe nuclear energy right now, rather than whingeing about the morality of Exon’s profit margin.
122 people found this helpful
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Carlos A Bigurra Alzati
5.0 out of 5 stars Recomendado, excelentes libro
Reviewed in Mexico on January 18, 2024
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Recomendado, excelentes libro, muy buen servicio y rapidez en la entrega, gracias.
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odlan
5.0 out of 5 stars Sobre a estória do uso da energia em suas várias formas.
Reviewed in Brazil on August 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
Recebi hoje. O livro tem impressão nítida em papel de textura amarelada, e capa comum.
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odlan
5.0 out of 5 stars Sobre a estória do uso da energia em suas várias formas.
Reviewed in Brazil on August 15, 2023
Recebi hoje. O livro tem impressão nítida em papel de textura amarelada, e capa comum.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars an amazing thinker
Reviewed in Canada on August 25, 2022
Verified Purchase
one of the most relevant writers on sustainability today- Smil puts energy- of all types- into a global and historical perspective that is revealing, rational and thought provoking.
One person found this helpful
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SANOH PRATAP SINGH
5.0 out of 5 stars nice book
Reviewed in India on January 2, 2024
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nice book
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Hermann Luyken
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly fascinating
Reviewed in Germany on January 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
Wonderful description of the evolution of energy usage, well documented and full of informative material. I wished I would know this guy personally. I am sure I could listen endlessky to what he says. I can understand why Bill Gates loves his books. I already bought the next one.
One person found this helpful
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