More like how fossil fuels underlie core systems that the world depends on. Mostly a climate book on how technologists tend to overestimate how easy it would be for technology to displace current dependence on fossil fuels, and why these systems will more likely depend on fossil fuels for a long time (specifically energy, materials, food production, etc.)

Vaclav Smil has a very purist approach to writing where he believes in writing pure facts without injecting much opinion or thought of his own. It makes for a book that's very unbiased but also lacking in narrative or insight at many parts, making it tougher to get through. I appreciated his opposition toward techno-optimism though, as its a persective that I don't often hear.