--- product_id: 6946443 title: "Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization" price: "NZ$110" currency: NZD in_stock: false reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.nz/products/6946443-making-the-modern-world-materials-and-dematerialization store_origin: NZ region: New Zealand --- # Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization **Price:** NZ$110 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization - **How much does it cost?** NZ$110 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nz](https://www.desertcart.nz/products/6946443-making-the-modern-world-materials-and-dematerialization) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description desertcart.com: Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization: 9781119942535: Smil, Vaclav: Books Review: What do we do when we run out of Smil? - Smil looks at economies their cities, machines, high-ways, farms, vehicles, airplanes and he finds music in statistics. Tonages, gallons, watts, Joules, Newtons and populations. He must compose the score of this music in his head. Musical though made of numbers not numerical, instinctive not contrived. This latest of Smil’s brilliant books repeats statistical music we are familiar with from earlier studies but this work is more extreme, Smil breaks into a dance celebrating his fond dream of de-materialization. In earlier books such as the recent “Should we Eat Meat” Smil has made clear his distaste for greed and extravagance. We humans, especially Americans indulge ourselves. We needn’t eat steak at every meal, drive there ton SUV’s. His statistic crowded studies should be effective because he employs “science” and skirts tiresome scolding’s we have become immune to. De-materialization brings on excitement. The music of statistics isn’t enough to accompany man’s great accomplishments. De-materialization promises technical ecstasy. Lighter and lighter aluminum beer cans. 85 grams for the first, now only 12.75 grams. More and more powerful yet lighter internal combustion engines. Jets and rockets so powerful they may overshoot outer space. The facts are assembled and referenced in studies that make your head spin as Smil accelerates intricate numerical observations. Sadly the de-materialization dance ends in a somber switch as Smil accepts defeat switching from ever lighter beer cans, jet engines and computers to what we strangle and clog our roads with, huge heavy cars. Smil carefully documents their ungainly mass as dependent on the price of oil, like a biologist charting the size of pigeons and the acorn crop they feed on. This part of the story leaves Smil crestfallen. This disappointment after what can be done by de-materialization. In a later chapter Smil disagrees with our perennial mongers of shortages. “We are soon to run out of …..” our real dilemma is more complicated for our end will not come from exhaustion. We can mine scrap, dig deeper, invent substitutes. We suffer self inflicted damage; struggle to make ourselves fat and unhappy. Reading his rebuttals to those predicting exhausting oil, gas, phosphate, copper etc. I found another worry; running out of Vaclav Smil. Born in 1948 how many more years of wisdom can we expect? This book is not perfect, Smil is a carrier of a modern sickness, the over use of initials. This leaves the reader out in a wilderness; what does this mean? How can the author be proud of switching to code when he could remain with well understood English? Review: Good book - Book that mensures the amount of materials that humankind utilizes during many years. And trace de future of dematerialization and utilization of many materials with the necessity in living in a more susteinable World. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #482,902 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #80 in Materials Science (Books) #332 in Environmental Economics (Books) #713 in Environmental Science (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (116) | | Dimensions | 6.6 x 0.6 x 9.4 inches | | Edition | 1st | | ISBN-10 | 1119942535 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1119942535 | | Item Weight | 15.2 ounces | | Language | English | | Print length | 256 pages | | Publication date | December 16, 2013 | | Publisher | Wiley | ## Images ![Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61mCSsqXNRL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What do we do when we run out of Smil? *by S***R on May 27, 2014* Smil looks at economies their cities, machines, high-ways, farms, vehicles, airplanes and he finds music in statistics. Tonages, gallons, watts, Joules, Newtons and populations. He must compose the score of this music in his head. Musical though made of numbers not numerical, instinctive not contrived. This latest of Smil’s brilliant books repeats statistical music we are familiar with from earlier studies but this work is more extreme, Smil breaks into a dance celebrating his fond dream of de-materialization. In earlier books such as the recent “Should we Eat Meat” Smil has made clear his distaste for greed and extravagance. We humans, especially Americans indulge ourselves. We needn’t eat steak at every meal, drive there ton SUV’s. His statistic crowded studies should be effective because he employs “science” and skirts tiresome scolding’s we have become immune to. De-materialization brings on excitement. The music of statistics isn’t enough to accompany man’s great accomplishments. De-materialization promises technical ecstasy. Lighter and lighter aluminum beer cans. 85 grams for the first, now only 12.75 grams. More and more powerful yet lighter internal combustion engines. Jets and rockets so powerful they may overshoot outer space. The facts are assembled and referenced in studies that make your head spin as Smil accelerates intricate numerical observations. Sadly the de-materialization dance ends in a somber switch as Smil accepts defeat switching from ever lighter beer cans, jet engines and computers to what we strangle and clog our roads with, huge heavy cars. Smil carefully documents their ungainly mass as dependent on the price of oil, like a biologist charting the size of pigeons and the acorn crop they feed on. This part of the story leaves Smil crestfallen. This disappointment after what can be done by de-materialization. In a later chapter Smil disagrees with our perennial mongers of shortages. “We are soon to run out of …..” our real dilemma is more complicated for our end will not come from exhaustion. We can mine scrap, dig deeper, invent substitutes. We suffer self inflicted damage; struggle to make ourselves fat and unhappy. Reading his rebuttals to those predicting exhausting oil, gas, phosphate, copper etc. I found another worry; running out of Vaclav Smil. Born in 1948 how many more years of wisdom can we expect? This book is not perfect, Smil is a carrier of a modern sickness, the over use of initials. This leaves the reader out in a wilderness; what does this mean? How can the author be proud of switching to code when he could remain with well understood English? ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good book *by E***O on September 15, 2014* Book that mensures the amount of materials that humankind utilizes during many years. And trace de future of dematerialization and utilization of many materials with the necessity in living in a more susteinable World. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Recommendation for you, thinkers *by J***L on January 28, 2014* Excellent, as we are used to read from Václav Smil: critical reference book to fathom context of issues and to return to genuine sciene that cannot be bended by political discussions! Exciting and disturbing reading for all real thinkers! ## Frequently Bought Together - Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization - Energy and Civilization: A History (Mit Press) - Numbers Don't Lie: 71 Stories to Help Us Understand the Modern World --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.nz/products/6946443-making-the-modern-world-materials-and-dematerialization](https://www.desertcart.nz/products/6946443-making-the-modern-world-materials-and-dematerialization) --- *Product available on Desertcart New Zealand* *Store origin: NZ* *Last updated: 2026-04-25*