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  • Grand Transitions

  • How the Modern World Was Made
  • By: Vaclav Smil
  • Narrated by: Robert Fass
  • Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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Grand Transitions

By: Vaclav Smil
Narrated by: Robert Fass
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Publisher's Summary

What makes the modern world work? The answer to this deceptively simple question lies in four "grand transitions" of civilization - in populations, agriculture, energy, and economics - that have transformed the way we live.

Societies that have undergone all four transitions emerge into an era of radically different population dynamics, food surpluses (and waste), abundant energy use, and expanding economic opportunities. Simultaneously, in other parts of the world, hundreds of millions remain largely untouched by these developments.

Through erudite storytelling, Vaclav Smil investigates the fascinating and complex interactions of these transitions. He argues that the moral imperative to share modernity's benefits has become more acute with increasing economic inequality, but addressing this imbalance would make it exceedingly difficult to implement the changes necessary for the long-term preservation of the environment. Thus, managing the fifth transition - environmental changes from natural-resource depletion, biodiversity loss, and global warming - will determine the success or eventual failure of the grand transitions that have made the world we live in today.
©2021 Oxford University Press (P)2021 Tantor
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Profile Image for Thomas Michl

Death by numbers

This book is a double edged sword. On one hand, the author has an incredible understanding on the workings of the world and the data to support it. On the other hand, the book suffocates the reader with a seemingly never ending torrent of numbers that are as quickly forgotten as they are mentioned. The author Vaclav Smil could be among the other greater thinkers of our time if he managed to distill the essence of his thoughts instead of losing the reader in a gauntlet of numbers.

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