The "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Physics of the Impossible" offers a stunning and provocative vision of the future, and explains how science will shape human destiny and everyone's daily life by the year 2100.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Vaclav Smil is my favorite author." Bill Gates "How the World Really Works represents the highly readable distillation of this lifetime of scholarship Mr. Smil looks over the horizon of the future with humility and calmness, foreseeing 'a mixture of progress and setbacks, of seemingly insurmountable difficulties and near-miraculous advances.' Wall Street Journal An essential analysis of the modern science and technology...

A human-centered society creatively balances investments in sources of innovation, while also governing in a manner that eventually limits exploitation by originators once innovations have proven their value in the marketplace, broadly defined to include both private and public constituencies. The desired balance requires society to invest in constituencies to be able to create innovations that provide current and future collective benefits, while...

We are facing unprecedented challenges today. For many of us, innovation would be our last hope. But how can it be done? Is it enough to bet on the scientific culture? How can technical culture contribute to innovation? How is technical culture situated with regards to what we name collectively the culture of innovation? It is these questions that this book intends to address.

Awareness of science encouraged through events in 2017.

An exploration of how an inanimate universe generates stunning new forms and unbelievable new powers.

Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes--good and bad--are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees argues that humanity's prospects depend on our taking...

"There has never been a time when 'following the science' has been more important for humanity. At no other point in history have we had such advanced knowledge and technology at our fingertips, nor had such astonishing capacity to determine the future of our planet. But the decisions we must make on how science is applied belong outside the lab and should be the outcome of wide public debate. For that to happen, science needs to become part of our...