This is a wonderfully interesting read and ordinarily I would have given such a book 4 or 5 stars.
My huge reservation is that the author does not just stick to numbers (unlike the engrossing book The Universe Speaks in Numbers by Graham Farmelo). He is especially vituperative about the UK, see quote below* where personal prejudice seems to show through, and he does not mention the massive advances, both in power contribution and much lowered costs, made in off-shore wind by the UK - contrary to many previous expectations by so-called world experts.
Also, in his measure of countries' worth he does not think to consider the merits of countries simply willing to stand against tyranny: the UK would rate highly in this regard with its prolonged start-to-finish fights against both the Nazis and the Soviet Union. We were, history shows, a very minor player in the defeats of these twin evils but we at least did try and were there slinging a few stones as best we could well before other stronger players "bravely" entered the fight.
There may here be a current relevance with our small efforts to stand out against and call out the EU State, and that may be a reason for his particular animus, as Smil has been I think an adviser to the EU.
*"The UK has become....a deindustrialized and worn out country; another has-been power whose claim to uniqueness rests on having too many troubled princes and on exporting costumed TV series set in fading country mansions staffed with too many servants."
I in fact entirely agree with his withering assessments of both our ghastly princes and our TV series, but his bias shows bleakly though in such subjective statements.
Maybe Covid-19 adds an interesting aspect as well: the one vaccine both conceived and manufactured in the UK may well be the one to "save the world". I am not referring to the financial delusions of a former prime minister here, but the fact that the result of the Oxford/Astra collaboration is by far the easiest to handle (will safely sit in a fridge in a small store in Chad beside the Coca-Cola and root beer cans) and also by far the cheapest ($4 contra the $20-30 cost of the other leading sorts). Also the much maligned, utterly dreadful UK has agreed to make this available to the Developing World at zero profit for ever - no other country has come near to promising that. This will no doubt all just be put down to a massive fluke, but perhaps the author might reasonably consider that the UK has 5 universities in the world's top rank of 20 [QS Rankings], then some balance might just prevail. The entire EU scores NULL points in this particular Eurovision category!
Perhaps Balfour's aphorism (slightly modified) that "there are lies, a significantly higher order of lies, and then there are numbers", might merit further thought.
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Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
Does not stick to numbers
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 9 November 2020Verified Purchase
daniel shillabeer
One-dimensional glancing blows on some very important issues.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 20 June 2021Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Excellent on data, questionable on extrapolations
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 5 April 2021Verified Purchase
Jonathan D.
Smil's greatist hits
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 14 November 2021Verified Purchase
Alastair
Still none the wiser.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 22 July 2021Verified Purchase
