Grand Transitions

How the Modern World Was Made

De: Vaclav Smil

Narrado por: Robert Fass

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

Very important overview of the world

A little too detailed, but very well researched and presented. The last chapter should be required reading for everyone.

China is one odd country

As someone engaged with international trade this is really helpful. Just seeing how important certain products are in transforming lives and how China progressed as far as the European countries did in a fraction of the time. It really opened my eyes to a new world.

Thorough

Nobody I know covers their subjects as thoroughly as Bacliv Smil - and he does so in a manner that invites thought and contemplation long after the book is finished.

Nihil novum sub soli

This is one of the most difficult-to-read books I’ve put myself through lately because of the torrential cascade of measurements, numbers, dates, percentages, and rates of change committed to pages for “funzies”. If you come to accept the data that Smil is proposing as true, it is hard to argue with his parting conclusion of “there is nothing new under the sun” because despite being a data agglomeration of sorts, this is really a historical view of humanity condensed to just numbers. If you can tolerate that, you know what you’re getting by choosing to read this. It’s an anthropologist data history book.

A fantastic peak at the potential future...

Fantastic exposition of how we got to where we are, and a great guide to where we may be headed.