Vaclav Smil is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. By the end of 2023 he has published or has in print 50 books (with translations to 35 languages) and more than 500 papers of interdisciplinary research. His latest books published in 2022 and 2023 are How the World Really Works (NYT bestseller), Size, Invention and Innovation, and Materials and Dematerialization.