{"product_id":"numbers-dont-lie-71-stories-to-help-us-understand-the-modern-world-9780143136224","title":"Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Stories to Help Us Understand the Modern World","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author... \u003ci\u003eNumbers Don't Lie \u003c\/i\u003etakes everything that makes his writing great and boils it down into an easy-to-read format. I unabashedly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning.\"--Bill Gates, \u003ci\u003eGatesNotes\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eHow the World Really Works\u003c\/i\u003e, an essential guide to understanding how numbers reveal the true state of our world--exploring a wide range of topics including energy, the environment, technology, transportation, and food production. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eVaclav Smil's mission is to make facts matter. An environmental scientist, policy analyst, and a hugely prolific author, he is Bill Gates' go-to guy for making sense of our world. In\u003ci\u003e Numbers Don't Lie\u003c\/i\u003e, Smil answers questions such as: What's worse for the environment--your car or your phone? How much do the world's cows weigh (and what does it matter)? And what makes people happy? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom data about our societies and populations, through measures of the fuels and foods that energize them, to the impact of transportation and inventions of our modern world--and how all of this affects the planet itself--in \u003ci\u003eNumbers Don't Lie\u003c\/i\u003e, Vaclav Smil takes us on a fact-finding adventure, using surprising statistics and illuminating graphs to challenge conventional thinking. Packed with fascinating information and memorable examples, \u003ci\u003e Numbers Don't Lie\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how the US is leading a rising worldwide trend in chicken consumption, that vaccination yields the best return on investment, and why electric cars aren't as great as we think (yet). Urgent and essential, with a mix of science, history, and wit--all in bite-sized chapters on a broad range of topics--\u003ci\u003eNumbers Don't Lie\u003c\/i\u003e inspires readers to interrogate what they take to be true.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of over forty books including \u003ci\u003eHow the World Really Works\u003c\/i\u003e covering topics including energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, risk asssessment, and public policy. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Member of the Order of Canada.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50612499808530,"sku":"9780143136224","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_557ce61a-ee81-46f5-bd77-cd97f8b0a5d9.jpg?v=1732375065","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/numbers-dont-lie-71-stories-to-help-us-understand-the-modern-world-9780143136224","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}