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Growth

From Microorganisms to Megacities

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Growth

Written by: Vaclav Smil
Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
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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 Media Biological Sciences Environment Marketing & Sales Nature & Ecology Public Policy Small Business & Entrepreneurship Social Sciences World Conservation Business Sustainability Human Brain
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Profile Image for Paul R.

Very comprehensive

This book represents quite the marathon through many things that grow. I must admit that sometimes I got lost in the details and numbers, but I still appreciated the overall sentiment of the book. I especially enjoyed the coda, which provided the big picture, highlighting why it is nonsensical to hold onto ideas of infinite growth.

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