Speed: How it Explains the World

Prepare to view the world through a new lens – SPEED – a groundbreaking exploration that challenges your perceptions of life’s driving force, from the internationally bestselling author'There is no author whose books I look forward to more' Bill Gates‘There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil’ GuardianIn a world that feels like it’s moving faster than ever, Smil examines how our relentless pursuit of speed – in areas such as production, travel and communication – shapes not only our technological landscape but also our social and environmental realities. And through engaging anecdotes and striking statistics, Smil challenges the assumption that faster is always better. He invites readers to reconsider the implications of our collective obsession with speed, and its intricate relationship with nature and innovation. For example, he highlights the surprising fact that erosion can actually accelerate mountain growth, and he points out that the rapid adoption of mobile phones – achieving 90 per cent penetration in just nineteen years – reflects historical patterns of technological adoption, suggesting that our world may not be moving significantly faster than in the past. Whether exploring the tiny mites that can traverse 300 times their body length in a second or the societal impacts of high-frequency trading, Speed invites readers to engage in a more balanced conversation about the role of speed in our lives, in an age defined by haste.

''There is no author whose books I look forward to more'' Bill Gates

‘There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil’ Guardian

Explore how speed influences every aspect of life on Earth, from the slow grind of geological processes and the fleeting lifespans of organisms to the astonishing speed of light and the remarkable adaptations of creatures like the swift antelope and the soaring albatross. In this ambitious and wide-ranging ideas book, internationally bestselling author Vaclav Smil uncovers the intricate connections between speed, nature, and human innovation.

With counterintuitive insights, such as how erosion actually accelerates mountain growth, Smil challenges long-held myths. For example, Smil debunks the notion that our modern lives are accelerating at an unprecedented pace: the rapid adoption of mobile phones – from 0% in 1983 to 90% in 2002 (19 years) – is like the spread of earlier technologies such as radio (22 years), colour television (24 years) and even microwave ovens (17 years).

In SPEED, Smil combines his trademark compelling statistics with insightful analysis to take readers on a captivating journey through the vast timescales of Earth’s history and the complexities of modern life. He explains how we measure speed and reveals the theoretical limits that shape our societies, offering a thought-provoking exploration of the forces that define our world. This eye-opening book encourages readers to see speed’s vital role in everything around us.

• | Author: Vaclav Smil
• | Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• | Publication Date: Nov 27, 2025
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9780241754542
• | ISBN-10: 0241754542