"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author."—Bill Gates “The renowned energy scientist … aims to [recenter] materials rather than electronic flows of data as the bedrock of modern life — largely through examining what he calls the four pillars of modern civilization: cement, steel, plastics and ammonia.” —David Marchese, The New York Times MagazineAn essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible—a scientist's investigation