Grand transitions : how the modern world was made / Vaclav Smil.

Main entry:

Smil, Vaclav, author.

Title & Author:

Grand transitions : how the modern world was made / Vaclav Smil.

Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021]

Description:

xi, 363 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Epochal transitions -- Populations -- Agricultures and diets -- Energies -- Economies -- Environment -- Outcomes and outlooks.

Summary:

"The modern world was created through the combination and complex interactions of five grand transitions. First, the demographic transition changed the total numbers, dynamics, structure, and residential pattern of populations. The agricultural and dietary transition led to the emergence of highly productive cropping and animal husbandry (subsidized by fossil energies and electricity), which eliminated famines, reduced malnutrition, and improved the health of populations but also resulted in enormous food waste and had many environmental consequences. The energy transition brought the world from traditional biomass fuels and human and animal labor to fossil fuel, ever more efficient electricity, lights, and motors, which transformed both agricultural and industrial production and enabled mass-scale mobility and instant communication. Economic transition has been marked by relatively high growth rates of total national and global product, by fundamental structural transformation (from farming to industries to services) and by an increasing share of humanity living in affluent societies, enjoying unprecedented quality of life. These transitions have made many intensifying demands on the environment, resulting in ecosystemic degradation, loss of biodiversity, pollution, and eventually change on the planetary level, with global warming being the most worrisome development. This book traces the genesis of these transitions, their interactions and complicated progress as well as their outcomes and impacts, explaining how the modern world was made-and then offers a forward-thinking examination of some key unfolding transitions and appraising their challenges and possible results"-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN:

9780190060664 hardcover
0190060662 hardcover
9780197696750 paperback
0197696759 paperback
electronic publication
9780190060688
electronic book
9780197548516

Subject:

Civilization, Modern History.
Technology and civilization History.
Population History.
Economic history.
Human ecology History.
Technologie et civilisation Histoire.
Population Histoire.
Histoire économique.
Civilization, Modern.
Human ecology.
Population.
Technology and civilization.

Form/genre:

History.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 315253
Call No.: 315253
Copy: 1
Status: Available

Actions:

Add to folder

Request these items

Email this list to yourself (or someone else)

Your folder is empty.

Please complete this form to make a request for consultation. A copy of this list will also be forwarded to you.

Your contact information

First name:

Last name:

Email:

Phone number:

Notes (optional):

We will contact you to set up an appointment. Please keep in mind that your consultation date will be based on the type of material you wish to study. To prepare your visit, we'll need:

— At least 2 weeks for primary sources (prints and drawings, photographs, archival documents, etc.)
— At least 48 hours for secondary sources (books, periodicals, vertical files, etc.)

Back to list

Submit