
Growth
From Microorganisms to Megacities
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Narrated by:
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Eric Jason Martin
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By:
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Vaclav Smil
Growth has been both an unspoken and an explicit aim of our individual and collective striving. It governs the lives of microorganisms and galaxies; it shapes the capabilities of our extraordinarily large brains and the fortunes of our economies. Growth is manifested in annual increments of continental crust, a rising gross domestic product, a child's growth chart, the spread of cancerous cells. In this magisterial book, Vaclav Smil offers systematic investigation of growth in nature and society, from tiny organisms to the trajectories of empires and civilizations.
Smil takes listeners from bacterial invasions through animal metabolisms to megacities and the global economy. He begins with organisms whose mature sizes range from microscopic to enormous, looking at disease-causing microbes, the cultivation of staple crops, and human growth from infancy to adulthood. He examines the growth of energy conversions and man-made objects that enable economic activities - developments that have been essential to civilization. Finally, he looks at growth in complex systems, beginning with the growth of human populations and proceeding to the growth of cities.
©2019 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2020 Gildan MediaListeners also enjoyed...




















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Unmatched detail and analysis
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Informative and somewhat frightening
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Must read for those in the arts and social studies (especially economics).
Only negative is the Narrator; he oozes condescension and detracts from the book.
Excellent book; condescending narrator
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great book missing PDF in Audible
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Accompanying PDF
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Needs PDF for figures
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fascinating
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Infinite growth is not sustainable!
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Please improve this!
PDF should come with this book...
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Need accustomizing
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