India is undergoing its own acceleration, from rapid urban growth and digital adoption to rising scientific curiosity and a renewed hunger for idea-driven nonfiction. Enter SPEED by Vaclav Smil, one of the world’s most influential thinkers and the author Bill Gates calls “the writer I look forward to the most.”
Celebrated globally for turning data into gripping storytelling, Smil brings a sweeping, mind-expanding narrative that traces the role of speed across Earth’s history, natural systems, human innovation and the rhythms of modern life.
“There is perhaps no other academic who paints pictures with numbers like Smil.” — The Guardian
A story the world needs — from drifting mountains to racing technologies
In SPEED, Smil reveals the surprising truth: the world is not simply getting faster; it has always been governed by competing tempos, some unimaginably slow, others unimaginably fast.
He uncovers counterintuitive insights, such as how erosion can accelerate mountain growth, and challenges the myth that today’s digital era is uniquely rapid. The adoption of mobile phones in India mirrors earlier leaps like radio, colour TV and microwave ovens, proving that the patterns of “speed” repeat more than they break.
Blending science, data and storytelling, Smil decodes the scales of motion that shape everything, from the migration of birds and the pace of ecosystems to transportation networks, industrial systems and the limits of human innovation.
It’s a book that forces readers to ask: Do we truly understand the speed of the world we live in, or have we only been guessing?
WHAT’S INSIDE — SPEED, DECODED
· A big-idea, conversation-starting book by one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals.
· Bill Gates’ favourite author — known for shaping global conversations on energy, innovation and human development.
· A sweeping, multidisciplinary look at motion across nature, technology and society.
· Busts the myth of unprecedented modern acceleration using surprising data comparisons.
· Reveals how speed governs ecosystems, engineering, human behaviour and global systems.
· Perfect for India’s science-curious, idea-driven, non-fiction audiences.
About The Author
Vaclav Smil is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of over forty books on topics including energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, risk assessment, and public policy. No other living scientist has had more books (on a wide variety of topics) reviewed in Nature. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, in 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers.
