In his latest and most readable book, bestselling author Vaclav Smil offers an insightful and fact-filled jaunt through the history of human invention. Drawing on his vast breadth of scientific and historical knowledge, Smil explains the difference between invention and innovation, and looks not only at inventions that failed to dominate as promised (such as the airship, nuclear fission, and supersonic flight), but also at those that turned disastrous (leaded gasoline, DDT, and chlorofluorocarbons). Most importantly, he offers a wish list of inventions that we most urgently need to confront the staggering challenges of the twenty-first century. |
