Invention and Innovation
Vaclav Smil, an energy and history scholar whose books Bill Gates reads closely, pushes back on the idea that we live in an age of unmatched innovation. He walks through inventions that promised to change the world and did not, from leaded gasoline and DDT to airships and supersonic flight, and asks why some breakthroughs stall while hype keeps building. His point is that real progress is slower and messier than the headlines suggest, and that understanding past failures should make us more careful about today's grand claims. The book is short, blunt, and full of the kind of detail Smil is known for.
Also by Vaclav Smil
What you might want to know about Invention and Innovation
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
The prolific scholar Vaclav Smil takes a skeptical look at the history of invention, including the failures and false promises we tend to forget.
Yes. Bill Gates named it among his favorite books of 2023, though he noted he thinks Smil underrates recent progress in AI.
Invention and Innovation was written by Vaclav Smil, published in 2023 by MIT Press.
Invention and Innovation is 232 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Invention and Innovation takes most readers 3 to 5 hours to finish.
Invention and Innovation is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
