Updates

  1. Person pages list letters, writing, profiles and links as sortable tables with filters, and show each person's companies as links; Fund letters show each letter's description in its own column.
  2. Experts show a checked job title and a short description of each person; 30 more people have photographs.
  3. Every company, fund, university and publication the experts work for has a page listing the people there.
  4. Fund letters show each letter's thesis and filter by it; 225 person pages list the essays, columns and newsletter issues the person wrote.
  5. Person pages list every essay and newsletter issue a person wrote, and their own books as a table in List view.
  6. Recommends shows the five largest kinds of book and the rest under More; browse pictures load sooner.
  7. Podcasts and talks link the original episode, filter by Audio and video or Press, and list each publisher once.
  8. Pages are wider, Recommends has List and Grid, and a filter clicked again turns off.
  9. Book cards sit in a ruled grid with Open Library and Goodreads links and each book's one-line note.
  10. Funds is now Investors; each investor's styles are buttons that filter the table.
  11. Podcasts and talks on a person's page filter by year and publisher and show as a list or a grid of pictures.
  12. Quotes show only people's own words: 472 summaries written by list sites are gone.
  13. Country pages open from Browse again, and every link on the shelf lands on a page.
  14. Subject and person pages show their sections as tabs, and each book appears once on a person's page.
  15. Book cards show the quote, who said it and the source; grids show five cards to a row.
  16. On a phone, a menu holds the sections, search, Updates, Feedback and dark mode.
  17. Feedback takes a screenshot of the page with no browser prompt, opens a screenshot full size when you click it, and clears itself once sent.
  18. Book cards are centred, search names the topic each book sits in, and any text cut short shows whole on hover.
  19. Search groups its results by kind: people, companies, geographies, subjects, topics, books, funds, fund letters and papers.
  20. The Books table lists who recommended each book by name, and the browser tab names the section you are in.
  21. Feedback can take a screenshot of the page, or one you paste or choose, and opens in the corner beside Updates.
  22. Each rail button reopens its section where you left it, and Browse, Table and People show on every book and subject page.
  23. Filters grey out choices that hold nothing instead of hiding them, and Books › People filters by authors or recommenders.
  24. Feedback takes a subject line and up to three screenshots.
  25. Biographies are grouped by the person they are about: 41 new pages, from Abraham Lincoln to Lee Kuan Yew.
  26. Sport splits into 23 sports, and Religion into one topic per faith.
  27. Book lists show as cards: the cover, one recommendation quote and every recommender by name.
  28. Seventeen subjects that had two or three pages under different names now have one page each.
  29. Every page lists its Experts as authors and recommenders, with a link to them on the Experts tab.
  30. Economics, Financial history, Financial panics and Accounting are subjects of their own, with one page per financial crisis.
  31. Book, person and subject pages open inside the app, so the tabs stay in view.
  32. 996 more book covers, and photographs or logos for 227 more people and companies.
  33. Books › Browse shows every subject as cards, and the rail holds Fund letters, Papers, Experts, Books and Funds.
  34. Every topic over 150 books splits into narrower topics, each with a page of its own.

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Vaclav Smil

T1AcademicsEconomic growth and development

Czech-Canadian scientist and policy analyst whose research spans energy, environment, food, population, economics and history, including China's energy and food affairs.

University of Manitoba

Each book counts the physical inputs an economy consumes - joules, tonnes of steel, ammonia, cement - and establishes the historical rates at which past energy transitions actually moved. Those numbers let an investor size decarbonisation timelines and test claims about how fast an energy system can be rebuilt.

22 books of their own · 30 articles

Books 22Writing 30Profiles 2

Start here

  1. Energy and CivilizationVaclav Smil, 2017
  2. How the World Really WorksVaclav Smil, 2022
  3. Energy TransitionsVaclav Smil, 2010
Energy and CivilizationEnergy and Civilization
T1 Energy and Civilization
Vaclav Smil · 2017
Open LibraryGoodreads

History told through energy, from muscle and fire to coal, oil and electricity.

Recommended by: Balaji S. Srinivasan, Bill Gates and 1 other

How the World Really WorksHow the World Really Works
T1 How the World Really Works
Vaclav Smil · 2022
Open LibraryGoodreads

The physical basics of modern life: energy, food, materials and globalisation.

Recommended by: Bill Gates

Energy TransitionsEnergy Transitions
T1 Energy Transitions
Vaclav Smil · 2010
Open LibraryGoodreads

Each shift from wood to coal to oil took 50 to 70 years; new ones will be slow too.

Recommended by: Bill Gates

GrowthGrowth
T1 Growth
Vaclav Smil · 2019
Open LibraryGoodreads

How organisms, populations, machines, economies and civilisations grow, and stop.

Recommended by: Bill Gates

Making the Modern World: Materials and DematMaking the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization
T1 Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization
Vaclav Smil · 2013
Open LibraryGoodreads

How much steel, cement and plastic the world uses, and whether growth needs less.

Recommended by: Bill Gates, Mohnish Pabrai

Numbers Don't LieNumbers Don't Lie
T1 Numbers Don't Lie
Vaclav Smil · 2020
Open LibraryGoodreads

Seventy-one short pieces that correct common impressions with plain arithmetic.

Recommended by: Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and 1 other

Energy: A Beginner's GuideEnergy: A Beginner's Guide
T1 Energy: A Beginner's Guide
Vaclav Smil · 2006
Open LibraryGoodreads

A short primer on energy: its forms, units and role in nature and economies.

Recommended by: Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg

Oil: A Beginner's GuideOil: A Beginner's Guide
T1 Oil: A Beginner's Guide
Vaclav Smil · 2008
Open LibraryGoodreads

A short technical primer on oil: geology, extraction, refining, uses and reserves.

Recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai

Prime Movers of GlobalizationPrime Movers of Globalization
T1 Prime Movers of Globalization
Vaclav Smil · 2010
Open LibraryGoodreads

How the diesel engine and the gas turbine made modern global trade possible.

Recommended by: Bill Gates, Mohnish Pabrai

Creating the Twentieth CenturyCreating the Twentieth Century
T1 Creating the Twentieth Century
Vaclav Smil · 2004
Open LibraryGoodreads

How inventions of 1867 to 1914, from electricity to cars, made the modern world.

Recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai, Bill Gates

Enriching the EarthEnriching the Earth
T1 Enriching the Earth
Vaclav Smil · 2001
Open LibraryGoodreads

How Haber and Bosch's ammonia synthesis transformed world food production.

Recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai, Bill Gates

Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of AmeMade in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing
T1 Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing
Vaclav Smil · 2013
Open LibraryGoodreads

How American manufacturing rose to lead the world, and why its share then fell.

Recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai

Should We Eat Meat?Should We Eat Meat?
T1 Should We Eat Meat?
Vaclav Smil · 2013
Open LibraryGoodreads

Meat in human evolution and modern farming, and the costs of heavy meat-eating.

Recommended by: Bill Gates, Mohnish Pabrai

Why America Is Not a New RomeWhy America Is Not a New Rome
T1 Why America Is Not a New Rome
Vaclav Smil · 2010
Open LibraryGoodreads

Tests the popular comparison of America with ancient Rome and finds deep differences.

Recommended by: Bill Gates, Mohnish Pabrai

EnergiesEnergies
T4 Energies
Vaclav Smil · 1998
Open LibraryGoodreads

Recommended by: Bill Gates

Energy at the CrossroadsEnergy at the Crossroads
T4 Energy at the Crossroads
Vaclav Smil · 2003
Open LibraryGoodreads

Recommended by: Bill Gates

Energy Myths and RealitiesEnergy Myths and Realities
T4 Energy Myths and Realities
Vaclav Smil · 2010
Open LibraryGoodreads

Recommended by: Bill Gates

Global Catastrophes and TrendsGlobal Catastrophes and Trends
T4 Global Catastrophes and Trends
Vaclav Smil · 2008
Open LibraryGoodreads

Recommended by: Bill Gates

Harvesting the Biosphere
T4 Harvesting the Biosphere
Vaclav Smil · 2013
Open LibraryGoodreads

Recommended by: Bill Gates

How to Feed the WorldHow to Feed the World
T4 How to Feed the World
Vaclav Smil
Goodreads

Recommended by: Bill Gates

Invention and InnovationInvention and Innovation
T4 Invention and Innovation
Vaclav Smil
Goodreads

Recommended by: Bill Gates

The Earth's BiosphereThe Earth's Biosphere
T4 The Earth's Biosphere
Vaclav Smil · 2002
Open LibraryGoodreads

Recommended by: Bill Gates

Energy and CivilizationHistory told through energy, from muscle and fire to coal, oil and electricity.2017T1Balaji S. Srinivasan, Bill Gates, Nat Eliason
How the World Really WorksThe physical basics of modern life: energy, food, materials and globalisation.2022T1Bill Gates
Energy TransitionsEach shift from wood to coal to oil took 50 to 70 years; new ones will be slow too.2010T1Bill Gates
GrowthHow organisms, populations, machines, economies and civilisations grow, and stop.2019T1Bill Gates
Making the Modern World: Materials and DematerializationHow much steel, cement and plastic the world uses, and whether growth needs less.2013T1Bill Gates, Mohnish Pabrai
Numbers Don't LieSeventy-one short pieces that correct common impressions with plain arithmetic.2020T1Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Terrance McArthur
Energy: A Beginner's GuideA short primer on energy: its forms, units and role in nature and economies.2006T1Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg
Oil: A Beginner's GuideA short technical primer on oil: geology, extraction, refining, uses and reserves.2008T1Mohnish Pabrai
Prime Movers of GlobalizationHow the diesel engine and the gas turbine made modern global trade possible.2010T1Bill Gates, Mohnish Pabrai
Creating the Twentieth CenturyHow inventions of 1867 to 1914, from electricity to cars, made the modern world.2004T1Mohnish Pabrai, Bill Gates
Enriching the EarthHow Haber and Bosch's ammonia synthesis transformed world food production.2001T1Mohnish Pabrai, Bill Gates
Made in the USA: The Rise and Retreat of American ManufacturingHow American manufacturing rose to lead the world, and why its share then fell.2013T1Mohnish Pabrai
Should We Eat Meat?Meat in human evolution and modern farming, and the costs of heavy meat-eating.2013T1Bill Gates, Mohnish Pabrai
Why America Is Not a New RomeTests the popular comparison of America with ancient Rome and finds deep differences.2010T1Bill Gates, Mohnish Pabrai
Energies–1998Bill Gates
Energy at the Crossroads–2003Bill Gates
Energy Myths and Realities–2010Bill Gates
Global Catastrophes and Trends–2008Bill Gates
Harvesting the Biosphere–2013Bill Gates
How to Feed the World–Bill Gates
Invention and Innovation–Bill Gates
The Earth's Biosphere–2002Bill Gates

Tags

bill-gatesenergyutilitiesmaterialsagricultureenergy-transitiondecarbonisationmaterialsindustrial-historygrowthfood-systems