Environment

This is one of the great non-fiction reading experiences I have had. 'Numbers Don't Lie': 71 stories to Help Us Understand the Modern World' is one of the more recent of 40-plus books by Vaclav Smil.

I was blithely unaware of this author until about a decade ago when I read that 'most people think in three dimensions Vaclav Smil thinks in eleven', and it has stuck with me.

‘Cool it’ by Bjorn Lomborg is another in the long line of global warming and related books. I had been led to believe by his detractors that he was a “denier”. I did not find that to be the case. He says that global warming is occurring and it is mainly caused by CO2 produced by human activities. He is even suggesting a 4.5 F temperature increase this century.

‘Anthill’ by E.O. Wilson is that renowned biologist/naturalist’s first venture into fiction. And while I am loath to use the word “unique” he employs a technique here I have never encountered before. In the midst of a 370 page novel devoted to the story of a boy growing up in South Alabama, is a story of the life and complex societal organization of ants. Wilson, one of the world authorities on that subject, delivers what could be seen as a scientific paper, in a highly palatable narrative about the ants in their home and how they may view the world.

The name of the author, 'Bill Gates', will do as much to sell the book as the subject and material. But his renown as an entrepreneur and technological innovator coupled with his philanthropy should not detract from his well-earned expertise demonstrated across many fields.

It is not the specialty of official education and career, but more akin to that of a well-informed journalist. He has an ability to read and absorb huge amounts of complex material readily, such that he brings much knowledge to any interview with experts.

The reader is soon disabused of the idea that 'The Fate of Food: What we'll Eat in a Bigger Hotter, Smarter World' by Amanda Little is about the pros and cons of different menus.

In fact it is indirectly about food and really about modern hi-tech agriculture and the twists and turns it could take going forward.

The looming pressure effecting it is climate change, particularly heat and disrupted water supply.