Energy and Civilization
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
Energy and Civilization
| Full title | Energy and Civilization: A History |
|---|---|
| Author | Vaclav Smil |
| Published | 2017 |
| Pages | 568 |
| Recommended | 2 times |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | Vaclav Smil’s history of human civilization told entirely through energy flows — the book most of the energy-and-growth argument is downstream of. |
Where I heard about it
- @poorbjorn (BookLab by Bjorn) — on X, finishing it as his last read of 2025: “Love this book! Feels good that I ended 2025 on a high note.” February 2026.
- A crowd-sourced X thread — in the replies to @WillManidis asking “what is the single best book you can read that will explain an entire industry?” (the thread, June 2025); the full list is on what is the single best book… (tweet).
Connections
- Vaclav Smil — author.
- Technological Innovation — energy as the constraint every other technology is measured against.
- Historical Futurism
- what is the single best book… (tweet) — recommendation #2: named in this crowd-sourced thread.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.