Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Things You Need to Know About the World

Vaclav Smil is a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba and the author of over forty books on topics including energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, risk assessment, and public policy. He is known for his use of surprising statistics and illuminating graphs to challenge lazy thinking and inspire readers to interrogate what they take to be true. His book "Numbers Don't Lie" is a compelling, fascinating, and realistic portrait of the world and where it's going.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 01 October 2020
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

From the nations and people of the Earth to the fuels and foods that power them, to the transportation and innovations of our modern world, and how all of this affects the planet itself - in Numbers Don't Lie, Professor Vaclav Smil takes us on a fact-finding adventure, using surprising statistics and illuminating graphs to challenge lazy thinking.

Packed with Well, I never knew that information and with fascinating and unusual examples throughout, we find out how many people it took to build the Great Pyramid, that vaccination yields the best return on investment, and why electric cars aren't as great as we think (yet). There's a wonderful mix of science, history, and wit, all in bite-sized chapters on a broad range of topics.

Urgent and essential, Numbers Don't Lie inspires readers to interrogate what they take to be true in these significant times. Smil is on a mission to make facts matter, because after all, numbers may not lie, but which truth do they convey?

Smil's title says it all: to understand the world, you need to follow the trendlines, not the headlines. This is a compelling, fascinating, and most important, realistic portrait of the world and where it's going.

Steven Pinker

The best book to read to better understand our world. Once in a while, a book comes along that helps us see our planet more clearly. By showing us numbers about science, health, green technology, and more, Smil's book does just that. It should be on every bookshelf!

Linda Yueh, author of The Great Economists

He is rigorously numeric, using data to illuminate every topic he writes about. The word policy comes to mind.

Weight: 492g
Dimension: 146 x 222 x 37 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780241454411