Who's afraid of Vaclav Smil?

[mpareles@uchicago.edu]

Hey everyone, 

Have a  question for the list regarding Vaclav Smil.  I'm currently reading 
his book "China's Past, China's Future: Energy, Food, Environment." He comes 
highly recommended by Dali Yang and he seems to be cited by everyone, but he 
seems very conservative and not particularly knowledgable of the historical 
events which accompany the phenomena about which he writes.  Wanted to know 
what people thought about him and his work and where he falls in the 
ideological spectrum of current East Asian scholarship.  Any ideas?  Thanks a 
lot.

Truly,
Michael Pareles
University of Chicago