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Description
Invention and InnovationBy: Vaclav Smil Tour the history of human inventionand its attendant breakthroughs and bustsin this history book from the New York Times bestselling author of How the World Really Works. A BILL GATES RECOMMENDED BOOK: Every Smil book that I own is marked up with lots of notes that I take while reading. Invention and Innovation is no exception. The world is never finished catching up with Vaclav Smil, author of New York Times bestsellers How the World
By: Vaclav SmilTour the history of human invention—and its attendant breakthroughs and busts—in this history book from the New York Times-bestselling author of How the World Really Works.
A BILL GATES RECOMMENDED BOOK: “Every Smil book that I own is marked up with lots of notes that I take while reading. Invention and Innovation is no exception.”
The world is never finished catching up with Vaclav Smil, author of New York Times bestsellers How the World Really Works and Energy and Civilization. In Invention and Innovation, the prolific author—a favorite of Bill Gates—pens an insightful and fact-filled jaunt through the history of human invention. Impatient with the hype that so often accompanies innovation, Smil offers in this book a clear-eyed corrective to the overpromises that accompany everything from new cures for diseases to AI. He reminds us that even after we go quite far along the invention-development-application trajectory, we may never get anything real to deploy. Or worse, even after we have succeeded by introducing an invention, its future may be marked by underperformance, disappointment, demise, or outright harm.
Drawing on his vast breadth of scientific and historical knowledge, Smil explains the difference between invention and innovation, and looks not only at inventions that failed to dominate as promised (such as the airship, nuclear fission, and supersonic flight), but also at those that turned disastrous (leaded gasoline, DDT, and chlorofluorocarbons). And finally, most importantly, he offers a “wish list” of inventions that we most urgently need to confront the staggering challenges of the twenty-first century.
Filled with engaging examples and pragmatic approaches, this book is a sobering account of the folly that so often attends human ingenuity—and how we can, and must, better align our expectations with reality.
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4.3 ★★★★★
Based on 9 reviews
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Price good
Size: 5T-6T, Unit Count: 80
Perfect for starters
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Finally, a good night's sleep.
For almost a year, I've had sleep issues. No problem falling asleep, but I'd wake up 3 hours later and be up for the next 2-3 hours. I'd finally fall back asleep just a bit before the alarm and spend the rest of the day in a fog. It didn't matter whether I went to bed at 8:30 pm or 11pm - I was still up by 1:30-2 and awake for hours. It gradually got worse and I got desperate.
A friend recommended Melatonin and I resisted at first, having tried it after our daughter was born (almost 15 years ago). The tablets I took then had some odd side effects and I only took them for a few weeks before throwing the bottle away. Now, I think I have have been taking far too high of a dose, because these 3mg tablets work great.
Be careful when you take them! I'm awake and alert for about 20 minutes and then zone out totally - even in the middle of a conversation. After a couple of months, I've learned to just lay a tablet on my nightstand and take it when I'm ready to turn out the light. It works great: cured the problem of middle of the night sleeplessness. I still wake up sometimes at night, but have no trouble dropping back off to sleep. And when I wake up in the morning, I'm alert, energetic, and not already counting the hours until I can go back to bed to get a good night's sleep.
For me, this supplement would have been a good buy at twice the price - and my family agrees. I'm rested, cheerful, and so happy I gave it a try.
So far, no bad side effects. In fact, no side effects at all. I am taking it daily, but considering trying it on a more limited basis because of concerns about long-term effects. Considering, but haven't done it yet because I'm so enjoying a good night's sleep that I'm afraid to tinker with success!
Although I saw results the very first night I took this, I waited to write a review just in case it was a placebo effect at work. But it's been 11 weeks and I'm confident that this product is really effective for me.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2012
★★★★★ 5
Time release.. ONLY way to go
Used this brand before... when refill needed, came back for more. Time release is the best way to go as it works all night.
Not one big hit when you 1st go to sleep... A nice "hit"... to get you to sleep and then a slow release of the rest, to KEEP you asleep...
Don't think you'll be disappointed. I use sustained release with any vitamin/supplement I take (assuming the company makes it) .. including this. It's the best way to allow your body to utilize the product.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2023
★★★★★ 5
A subtle sleep enhancer.
Melatonin, in my experience, is a very subtle drug. I took it for about a month and then stopped before I actually saw what it was doing. It allowed me to fall asleep quicker and when I woke up during the night, to fall back asleep quicker as well. No more tossing and turning. I prefer the timed release version since I tend to sleep about 4-5 hours straight and then wake up sporadically after that. I had been buying the timed release from GNC but this brand is much cheaper, more pills, and just as effective. I've also tried popping another one after that initial 4-5 stretch of sleep to further prolong sleepy time, but I don't know how effective that is. It doesn't put you to sleep, so there's no grogginess when you wake up. It just jump starts the natural process.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2017
★★★★★ 4
Time release is the best way
I like these time released tablets. Time release is surprisingly hard to find unlike the immediate release style tablets. Time release allows for a longer sleep pattern as it enters the blood stream slowly over time allowing it to stay in you system. Immediate release will hit you hard and fast but your body will metabolize within a couple of hrs leaving you without the melatonin in you system. I took off a star for being pricey, but these do work very well.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2025
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