Scientist Vaclav Smil guides us through some of the most essential but poorly-understood processes in human civilization and how they impact our ability to face challenges like climate change.

Without industrial farming, energy production, and the manufacture of steel, concrete, and plastic, our civilization would be unrecognizable.

But most of us have no idea how these core processes work, nor their implications for addressing important challenges like climate change.

In democracies where the public influences policy, it is vital that we are better educated on the basic workings of modern society so that we can make informed decisions.

Vaclav Smil is a Czech-Canadian scientist, energy expert, author, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba.

In How The World Really Works, Smil introduces readers to the science behind the vital but unseen processes of the modern world and gives a realistic analysis of our prospects of preventing climate change.