Bill Gates
2022-06-06我偶爾會查看暢銷書排行榜，尋找下一本該讀什麼的靈感。幾週前，我翻閱了《紐約時報》的非小說類排行榜，結果大吃一驚——Vaclav Smil 的新書《How the World Really Works》竟然排在第 8 名！
多年來我一直是 Vaclav 作品的粉絲——他是我最喜愛的作家之一。但他的風格並非人人都能接受。他的許多著作內容密集、數據豐富，說它們從來沒有特別暢銷，還算客氣了。因此，身為…
How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future
We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most 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 and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, making their complete and rapid elimination unlikely. 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 is a continuation of his quest to make facts matter. Drawing on the latest science, including his own 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?