I have a number of Smil´s books in my TBR, and recently I picked up How the world really works and was disappointed. I´m wondering if the other books are similar to that one, or should I give another one a try.
I didn´t disliked the whole of How the world really works , but a lot of it feel superficial. I read similar books by other authors, which I found better. My biggest problem was the tone of the book, which I found a bit condescending, at parts even arrogant. Like, when Smil discusses diet (compering Spanish and Japanese diet, very superficially mind you), and outright dismisses the entirety of food science, because he doesn´t feel like studying the great amount of studies with often contradictory results. Which is fine, one doesn´t need to be an expert in everything, but then don´t comment and draw a conclusion on the issue as you know the answers. Other times he introduces a notion, but doesn´t get into it to really prove his point.
Overall, I was disappointed, because parts of this book were interesting – the whole discussion about energy, food and material production in the face of climate change brought up some point worth considering.
So my question is: did I just choose the wrong book to begin reading Smil or are the other books similar? I´m considering giving a try to Numbers don´t lie and Grand transitions.
Thanks!
by Eastern_Squirrel_235