About the book
Vaclav Smil's study traces how the modern world came to depend on unprecedented flows of materials, and asks whether that dependence can shrink. He surveys the main materials of history, from wood and stone to metals, alloys, plastics and silicon, and explains how each is extracted, produced and used. Smil also examines how productive extraction, processing and distribution have become, and what growing consumption costs in energy and environmental damage. He warns that even the most efficient production and the highest practical recycling rates may not offset demand driven by population growth and higher living standards. The interdisciplinary text offers perspectives for readers with backgrounds in resource economics, environmental studies, energy analysis, geology, manufacturing or materials science.
Bill Gates included it in The Best Books I Read in 2014, noting that a Smil title makes his favorites nearly every year and crediting this one's skeptical, data-driven case that making things with less material makes them cheaper.
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This book has 1 recommendation
Bill Gates (CEO/Microsoft)
One of Smil’s books makes my list of favorites pretty much every year. This time it’s his look at the world’s use of materials, from silicon to wood to plastic and cement. If anyone tries to tell you we’re using fewer materials, send him this book. With his usual skepticism and his love of data, Smil shows how our ability to make things with less material—say, soda cans that need less aluminum—makes them cheaper, which actually encourages more production. We’re using more stuff than ever.
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