Order of Book Series
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Vaclav Smil Books in Order

Vaclav Smil has written 44 books, published between 1980 and 2025. The first book is Energy In The Developing World: The Real Energy Crisis (1980) and the newest is How to Feed the World: The History and Future of Food (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
44
Published
1980–2025
Pages on record
12,355 in 39 of 44 books
Reading time
206–309 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 12,355 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 39 of 44 titles with a page count on record.

See all 44 books in order Printable Vaclav Smil checklist
Photo of Vaclav Smil, author

Vaclav Smil, born December 9, 1943, is a Czech-Canadian scientist and policy analyst and Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Environment in Winnipeg. Smil studies energy, environment, food, population, economics, history and public policy, and applies that work to China. The 44 books in the catalogue start with Energy In The Developing World: The Real Energy Crisis (1980) and include The Bad Earth (1984) and Energy In World History (1994). How to Feed the World (2025) is the newest.

How many Vaclav Smil books are there?

Vaclav Smil has 44 books, released between 1980 and 2025.

Vaclav Smil Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 44 Vaclav Smil books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Energy In The Developing World: The Real Energy Crisis by Vaclav Smil (1980)
  2. Cover of The Bad Earth: Environmental Degradation In China by Vaclav Smil (1984)
  3. Cover of Energy, Food, Environment: Realities, Myths, Opinions by Vaclav Smil (1987)
  4. Cover of Energy In China's Modernization: Advances And Limitations by Vaclav Smil (1988)
  5. Cover of General Energetics: Energy in the Biosphere and Civilization by Vaclav Smil (1991)
  6. Cover of China's Environmental Crisis: An Enquiry Into the Limits of National Development by Vaclav Smil (1993)
  7. Cover of Global Ecology: Environmental Change and Social Flexibility by Vaclav Smil (1993)
  8. Cover of Energy In World History by Vaclav Smil (1994)
  9. Cover of Cycles of Life: Civilization and the Biosphere by Vaclav Smil, book 16 of the Scientific American Library series
  10. Cover of Energies: An Illustrated Guide to the Biosphere and Civilization by Vaclav Smil (1998)
  11. Cover of Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production by Vaclav Smil (2000)
  12. Cover of Feeding the World by Vaclav Smil (2000)
  13. Cover of The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change by Vaclav Smil (2002)
  14. Cover of Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties by Vaclav Smil (2003)
  15. Cover of China's Past, China's Future by Vaclav Smil (2003)
  16. Cover of Creating the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations of 1867-1914 and Their Lasting Impact by Vaclav Smil (2004)
  17. Cover of Energy: A Beginner's Guide by Vaclav Smil, book 1 of the Oneworld Beginners' Guides series (2006)
  18. Cover of Transforming the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations and Their Consequences: Technical Innovations and Their…
  19. Cover of Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems by Vaclav Smil (2007)
  20. Cover of Oil: A Beginner's Guide by Vaclav Smil (2008)
  21. Cover of Global Catastrophes and Trends: The Next 50 Years by Vaclav Smil (2008)
  22. Cover of Why America Is Not a New Rome by Vaclav Smil (2010)
  23. Cover of Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects by Vaclav Smil (2010)
  24. Cover of Prime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines by Vaclav Smil (2010)
  1. 1
    Energy In The Developing World: The Real Energy Crisis1980 · 386 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980386
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Energy Analysis And Agriculture: An Application To U.s. Corn Production1982 · 191 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 4
    The Bad Earth: Environmental Degradation In China1984 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 5
    Energy, Food, Environment: Realities, Myths, Opinions1987 · 361 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987361
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 6
    Energy In China's Modernization: Advances And Limitations1988 · 250 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1988250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 7
    General Energetics: Energy in the Biosphere and Civilization1991 · 369 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1991369
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 8
    China's Environmental Crisis: An Enquiry Into the Limits of National Development1993 · 257 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993257
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 9
    Global Ecology: Environmental Change and Social Flexibility1993 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 10
    Energy In World History1994 · 300 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994300
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 11
    Cycles of Life: Civilization and the BiosphereScientific American Library #161996 · 221 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996221
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 12
    Energies: An Illustrated Guide to the Biosphere and Civilization1998 · 228 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 13
    Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production2000 · 358 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000358
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 14
    Feeding the World2000 · 392 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000392
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 15
    The Earth's Biosphere: Evolution, Dynamics, and Change2002 · 356 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002356
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 16
    Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties2003 · 443 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2003443
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 17
    China's Past, China's Future2003 · 252 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2003252
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 18
    Creating the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations of 1867-1914 and Their Lasting Impact2004 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2004368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 19
    Energy: A Beginner's GuideOneworld Beginners' Guides #12006 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 20
    Transforming the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations and Their Consequences: Technical Innovations and Their Consequences v. 22006 · 358 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006358
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 21
    Energy in Nature and Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems2007 · 512 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007512
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 22
    Oil: A Beginner's Guide2008 · 216 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2008216
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 24
    Why America Is Not a New Rome2010 · 232 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2010232
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 25
    Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects2010 · 178 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2010178
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 26
    Oil Resources Production Uses Impacts2010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 27
    Prime Movers of Globalization: The History and Impact of Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines2010 · 264 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2010264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 28
    Energy Myths and Realities: Bringing Science to the Energy Policy Debate2010 · 230 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2010230
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 29
    Japan's Dietary Transition and Its Impacts2012 · 244 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012244
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 30
    Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature2012 · 307 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012307
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Vaclav Smil books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Oneworld Beginners' Guides in order

1 book
  1. 1. Energy: A Beginner's Guide

Scientific American Library in order

1 book
  1. 16. Cycles of Life: Civilization and the Biosphere

Standalone books

42 books

42 Vaclav Smil titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Vaclav Smil books in order?

No. No source lists any of the 44 Vaclav Smil books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.

Where to start with Vaclav Smil

Start with Energy In The Developing World: The Real Energy Crisis (1980), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Vaclav Smil book?

How to Feed the World: The History and Future of Food (2025) is the newest Vaclav Smil book released so far.

Is there a new Vaclav Smil book coming?

No next Vaclav Smil book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Vaclav Smil at a glance

Still publishing
Vaclav Smil published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Vaclav Smil books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
12,355 pages across the 39 of 44 books with a recorded length, a median of 280 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Vaclav Smil books, 16 of 44, were published in the 2010s.

What the Vaclav Smil books are about

40 of the 44 Vaclav Smil books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: power resources is tagged on 11 of 40. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Power resources 11 of 40 books
  • History 7 of 40 books
  • Social aspects 5 of 40 books
  • Technological innovations 5 of 40 books
  • Technology and civilization 5 of 40 books
  • Biosphere 4 of 40 books
  • Energy consumption 4 of 40 books
  • Food supply 4 of 40 books
  • Science 4 of 40 books
  • Effect of human beings on 3 of 40 books
  • Energy development 3 of 40 books
  • Environmental aspects 3 of 40 books