What makes a face beautiful—or how about a cathedral? Why do tall people make more money? And which alternative energy sources have the best chance of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels? Gathering insights from history, earth science, psychology, and art, Vaclav Smil offers fresh responses to some of our biggest challenges, including income inequality, infectious disease, and the uneven impacts of climate change. Smil also explains the regularities—and peculiarities—of the key processes shaping life, the Earth, technical advances, and societies.