Energy and Civilization: A History (Mit Press)
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A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today’s fossil fuel–driven civilization.
“I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next ‘Star Wars’ movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans’ ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years.
—Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year
Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today’s fossil fuel–driven civilization.
Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity’s energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil’s Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.
Publisher : The MIT Press
Publication date : November 13, 2018
Edition : Reprint
Language : English
Print length : 562 pages
ISBN-10 : 0262536161
ISBN-13 : 978-0262536165
Item Weight : 1.42 pounds
Dimensions : 6 x 1.44 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #68,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #12 in Energy Production & Extraction #118 in Technology (Books) #390 in Historical Study (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,162 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers say
Customers find the book informative and easy to read, particularly appreciating its comprehensive history of energy use throughout human history. The writing style receives mixed reactions, with some finding it well-written while others describe it as torturous. The content is criticized for being jampacked with random information.
7 reviews for Energy and Civilization: A History (Mit Press)
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Original price was: $22.95.$13.60Current price is: $13.60.
Jeffrey L. Blackwell –
The perfect text for a history class about Science-Tech-Society as part of STEM curricula
The best text for an undergrad history of energy that I could find in 1990s was ‘In the Servitude of Power: Energy through the Ages’ by three French, Marxist-influenced academics — Deleage, Debeir, Hemery. At the time, as I pursued a Ph.D in Interdisciplinary Humanities at FSU with the goal of teaching STS (Science-Tech-Society) at a American Engineering or Architecture school, the Marxist slant was (and is) a taboo point-of-view. Smil does not punctuate his narrative with Marxist critiques at each stage of energy development, concluding that an Era of Renewable energy would require Marxist transformation of society. Certainly a transition from fossil fuels-based to renewable ‘Green’ tech-based energy has been slow in progressing in the 25 years that have passed (also I was never able to teach history of energy in history depts. as specialized intellectual history nor as STS coursework. I sincerely hope that Smil’s less ideologically-driven narrative will be accepted at engineering schools as a much-needed antidote to the conservative view that the costs of transforming fossil-fuel techs is too great to bear. So instead, govt. policy impedes this transition by subsidizing coal & oil so long as these big political donors support politicians who do as they are told. Marxist or liberal bias aside, Europe has progressed toward renewables while the U S govt policy has staggered from pro-renewable to anti-green depending on the what PAC spends most on political ads.Energy and Civiization reads more like a science text than intellectual history but this is ideal for STEM students.For those who might wish a more historical approach to history of tech, check out Boorstin’s The Americans: The Democratic Experience ( last of his trilogy). The title is misleading; this is history of U S tech from post- Civil War to 1970s. Wonderfully blends tech history with entertaining narrative, i.e. , oil wild-catting, rise of a statistically-measured society and insurers, etc.With its broad sweep of energy development within world history, Smil could be specialized secondary text for a traditional World Civilization requirement. Also,for those who enjoyed this I’d recommend Diamond’s Germs, Guns, and Steel from late 1990s — it is an extraordinary synthesis of various scientific fields that explains the present-day dominance of science-based Western culture based on environmental circumstances and climate without depending upon racial biases which argue that caucasians are more intelligent than other races.
Martin Vesely –
Very unusual book
The author accomplished excellent work on the history of technological means of energy âproductionâ (or rather âtransformationâ as energy cannot be produced but only transformed). The book covers period going from Stone Age and first societies of hunters and collectors to high ancient civilization (like a Greeks, Romans, Arabic, Chineseâ¦) to European Medieval and of course modern times.The first chapter of the book is dedicated to introduction of energy measurement and measures used throughout the book, chapters 2 to 5 contain actual story of energy transformation in human history. Inventions ranging from more effective animal harnessing to water wheels to electricity generation are described in detail. The author discussed development of household equipment, metal processing and even weapons.Sixth chapter very clearly shows how, in author words, âhigh-energy civilizationâ reached the current state of development and how rapid this development has been among other things thanks to using fossil fuels and later a nuclear energy. Negative externalities, like an environment degradation, caused by the high energy consumption are discussed as well.The last chapter concludes and from my point of view it is more philosophical and sociological than historical. The author is thinking about strength of link between energy consumption and state of civilization development. However, I appreciated that this discussion was included since the link certainly exists and it is important to bear it in mind mainly in light of current ongoing changes in world energy mix.As already mentioned in other reviews, I would also point out that the book is rather text book than âeasy educational material for everybodyâ. It is full of figures, graphs and technical words. However, I enjoyed reading the book very much as it enriched my knowledge of history of engineering. I would recommend the book to everybody with at least small technical background and interested in history at the same time.
odlan –
Recebi hoje. O livro tem impressão nÃtida em papel de textura amarelada, e capa comum.
J T. –
Incredibly informative global historical survey of how energy conversion has been behind all human activities (including staying alive) and of how we have arrived at the astonishing (and appalling) quantities of energy we use per person today and the equally amazing (or appalling) technological changes have that come with it. With no waffle, the author tells us the facts. Essential reading to help us understand how we got where we are and what the options might be ahead.
Peter Marinko –
Boken borde läsas av många, beslutsfattare, politiker, alla som hoppas att vi kan undgå en klimatkollaps.Det är bra om man har en naturvetenskaplig bakgrund, men inte helt nödvändigt. Intresse att förstå viktiga samband är avgörande.Om det är ont om tid, så kan man starta med kapitel 5, som avhandlar den tekniska utvecklingen sen ungefär 1500, med början i Europa.Energi och dess omvandlingar är förbundna med ekonomin, skriver V Smil med eftertryck.Referenser upptar hela 67 sidor.
Ali A. Eftekhari –
This is one f my favorite books on energy, but let me start with the negatives: several different units are used across the chapters; I would have used better and more consistent units. I also do not necessarily agree with Smil on all the topics. Also, the book does not read like a very concrete story. However, IF you are into this topic -energy demand of our species and how it has change during our history- you are going to enjoy it tremendously and go back to it many times. I have also used some of the historical cases from this book in my lectures as examples and exercises.
Marco FILLA –
This is a rare book not only for the depth and clarity of the content, but also for the constant reference to the quantitative aspect of the subjects treated. A welcome blend between a treatise and a handbook is thus the result.