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Robert Bryce

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Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper: How Innovation Keeps Proving the Catastrophists Wrong Hardcover – May 13, 2014

by Robert Bryce (Author)

4.4 159 ratings

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In the face of today's environmental and economic challenges, doomsayers preach that the only way to stave off disaster is for humans to reverse course: to de-industrialize, re-localize, ban the use of modern energy sources, and forswear prosperity. But in this provocative and optimistic rebuke to the catastrophists, Robert Bryce shows how innovation and the inexorable human desire to make things Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper is providing consumers with Cheaper and more abundant energy, Faster computing, Lighter vehicles, and myriad other goods. That same desire is fostering unprecedented prosperity, greater liberty, and yes, better environmental protection.

Utilizing on-the-ground reporting from Ottawa to Panama City and Pittsburgh to Bakersfield, Bryce shows how we have, for centuries, been pushing for Smaller Faster solutions to our problems. From the vacuum tube, mass-produced fertilizer, and the printing press to mobile phones, nanotech, and advanced drill rigs, Bryce demonstrates how cutting-edge companies and breakthrough technologies have created a world in which people are living longer, freer, healthier, lives than at any time in human history.

The push toward Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper is happening across multiple sectors. Bryce profiles innovative individuals and companies, from long-established ones like Ford and Intel to upstarts like Aquion Energy and Khan Academy. And he zeroes in on the energy industry, proving that the future belongs to the high power density sources that can provide the enormous quantities of energy the world demands.

The tools we need to save the planet aren't to be found in the technologies or lifestyles of the past. Nor must we sacrifice prosperity and human progress to ensure our survival. The catastrophists have been wrong since the days of Thomas Malthus. This is the time to embrace the innovators and businesses all over the world who are making things Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper.

Review

Don't be misled by Robert Bryce's very breezy style. His new book makes important and positive observations about the world's energy future. You don't have to agree with every one of his attitudes or conclusions to hope that the reporting and arguments in the book are taken seriously, and that the innovators and start-ups he vividly describes get the support they need.” James Fallows

"[Bryce's] new book constitutes a direct assault against the policies of "degrowth" advanced by those who peddle what he calls "collapse anxiety". The book is also a sustained argument against the fundamentally pessimistic worldview that underlies those policies. . . . The claim that we can and should replace fossil fuels with renewables such as wind and solar is, Bryce says, a "damnable lie" that obscures the far more important question of what we should do to make more energy available to more people, especially 'the more than two billion people who are still living in abject energy poverty."John Daniel Davidson, National Review

The author of four books on oil and energy, Mr. Bryce has written a new book well worth readingSmaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheapercaptures the headlong rush of Western culture's endless drive for ever better technology. It is an extraordinary impulse that has created a world in which more people live longer and more comfortably than ever before.”Fred Andrews, New York Times

For years, Robert Bryce has been calling for rationality on energy policy. In this book, Bryce goes beyond energy to explain why the innovation that drives entrepreneurs is the way of the future. I'm an unapologetic capitalist. Reading Smaller Faster has only fortified my belief that the best way to address poverty is through entrepreneurial capitalism that produces more innovation and progress.”
John Mackey, co-founder and co-CEO, Whole Foods Market, and co-author of Conscious Capitalism

Robert Bryce may be our finest observer of the energy scene. Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper displays all the virtues -- the contacts, the technical savvy, the wit and clear thinking that make Bryce indispensable.” Charles R. Morris, author of The Dawn of Innovation and Comeback

"A book brimming with well-founded enthusiasm about the amazing present and the prospects for a more amazing future...exploding with fascinating energy facts and...super-fun to read....Bryce takes his appreciation of innovation and uses it to illuminate the past, present, and future of innovation across the board."Forbes

So what went wrong or, rather, right? Why is the human race in much better shape than it was 200, 100, or 50 years ago? Robert Bryce reminds us of the answers in his sprightly new book and promises that even better times lie aheadBryce's new book is an enlightening stroll down the sunny side of the street.” Hiawatha Bray,the Boston Globe

Engrossing survey”Arthur Herman, the Wall Street Journal

A celebration of innovations that have produced cheaper and more abundant energy, faster computing, lighter vehicles and other technological benefits..Bryce [is a] booster for business and technology; he makes many intriguing arguments in this rejoinder to the doomsayers [and] rebuttal to the catastrophists who insist that disaster lurks just around the corner.'”Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Robert Bryce is the acclaimed author of five previous books, including Smaller, Faster, Lighter, Denser, Cheaper: How Innovation Keeps Proving the Catastrophists Wrong, and Power Hungry: The Myths of "Green" Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Austin Chronicle, Guardian, and National Review.

He has given over 300 invited or keynote lectures to groups ranging from the Marine Corps War College to the Sydney Institute and has appeared on dozens of media outlets ranging from Fox News to Al Jazeera. Bryce is also the producer of a new feature-length documentary, Juice: How Electricity Explains the World. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Lorin.

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

PublicAffairs
Publication date

May 13, 2014
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

9781610392051
ISBN-13

978-1610392051
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1610392051
Publisher ‏ : ‎ PublicAffairs; Standard Edition (May 13, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781610392051
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1610392051
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.46 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #334,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #21 in Microelectronics
- #27 in Manufacturing Industry (Books)
- #39 in Industrial Relations Business

Customer Reviews:
4.4 159 ratings

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4.4 out of 5

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David S. Wellhauser

The Way Forward

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2014

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Mr. Bryce’s new effort, previous books include – Power Hungry, Gusher of Lies, and Pipe Dreams, amongst others, is concerned with “a celebration of the trend toward Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper. It’s also a rejoinder to the doomsayers, a rebuttal to the catastrophists who insist that disaster lurks just around the corner.” [Loc. 394]. The author does not wish to suggest there are not problems which need to faced and dealt with, some of these very serious, but the book argues that our future does not lie in our past. That is to say, the future does not lie in forsaking hydrocarbons but in the smarter use of these; the more effective use of these. Hence the title, “Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper.”

A part of Robert Bryce’s answer lies in the belief, well founded belief, “we need to embrace the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that is continually making things Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper [Loc.408]. If there is a bias in this book it is towards a recognition rather than an ideology: “we must recognize the countless Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper technologies that have come before us as well as those that lie ahead” [Loc. 427].

This book places a great deal of emphasis on energy and power systems. By looking into the past and then dealing with the present the author attempts to point the way to the future that is sustainable without having to forego technology and return to a hunter-gather state.

The book is profoundly hostile to Luddites and left-leaning environmentalists. There are also several occasions where Mr. Bryce lambasts the Obama presidency. To be honest, the book would have been stronger without the partisanship. Also, the book firmly falls into the camp of small government but is in no way connected with the idiocies of the Tea Party, or the demented state of the American Congress—they also come in for some contemptuous criticism.

Mr. Bryce breaks his argument down into four parts:

1. The push for innovation, its consequences, and an analysis of the neo-malthusian de-growth agenda of the left wing environmentalists.

2. This part of the argument is largely historical – dealing with where we have been and how the innovations of the past have helped us. Robert Bryce also examines where we are going and the companies leading the way.

3. Smaller examines the need for cheaper energy and how market demand has been pushing innovation forward which has led to Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper.

4. Part four looks at how and why we must embrace not a de-growth strategy but a smaller faster future…the more intelligent use of hydrocarbons that will reduce carbon emissions. As the author argues, “we must move past fear of technology to an understanding that technology isn’t the problem; it’s the solution” [Loc. 4800].

The fundamental argument of the book is that the solution to our problems is not in renouncing technology but in making is more efficient and thereby greener – two energy sources Bryce believes have merit is Natural Gas and Nuclear Power…rather than renewables, solar, and wind.

It is a very interesting book and worth the time of everyone interested in the future.

5 out of 5 stars.

4 people found this helpful

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Bill Henderson Jr.

How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love Natural Gas

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2017

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Bryce's premise is basically, "humans are smart - we'll figure it out, we always do". I agree and enjoyed Bryce's examples of human ingenuity, which he pulls from multiple industries. Bryce makes great points countering what he calls "catastrophists", showing in one example how the "end of oil" has been predicted over and over again for the last hundred years. You'll come away more at ease with the state of the world and a bit more optimistic. Overall I really enjoyed the book but Bryce, who is a self-proclaimed optimist, at times comes off pretty negative when talking about folks he disagrees with, President Obama and Amory Lovins in particular. It's unfortunate since Lovins is another optimist who embraces efficiency and many of the same ideas Bryce promotes. Definitely worth reading - I look forward to reading more of Bryce's books.

One person found this helpful

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A.L. Marlow

Fine work on the process and progress of innovation

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2014

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Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper is a fascinating examination of the process and progress of innovation. Author Robert Bryce has picked a wide range of examples, from cellphones and computer chips to steam engines and Tour de France bicycles, explaining how each of these became smaller, faster, lighter, denser or cheaper, and often all of the above. Bryce writes exceptionally well and is able to explain concepts that are quite complex in very readable, easily understandable prose.

No concept is more crucial to his narrative that that of density, especially as applied to energy. Thin diffuse sources especially solar, wind and biofuels have become popular with politicians and the media, and are touted as the answers to all energy-related issues. Bryce shows that these energy fads are impractical largely because they all lack density and therefore need enormous spaces to replace even one coal-fired electric power plant. One can only hope that politicians read the book and move toward more effective energy policies as result.

While Bryce shows that solar and wind cannot be the answer for the world's energy needs, he does not simply endorse the status quo. In fact, he sees the future of electric power as a shift from coal to natural gas in the near term and eventually from gas to nuclear power (or as he calls it, N2N). Bryce is a technological optimist and he is expecting advances in nuclear energy to make reactors smaller and above all, cheaper in the years ahead. Bryce makes the case for nuclear power effectively. Because nuclear power emits no carbon dioxide, he regards it as the only realistic option that would reduce any consequences from climate change while at the same time providing reliable electricity to people everywhere.

So often books about technology are grim tales that foresee potential catastrophe and conflict. Not Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper. It is a fine book, with a positive message about technology and its potential to better the lives of everyone on Earth.

10 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Sandy

A must read for everyone who is stymied by premonitions ...

Reviewed in India on September 12, 2017

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A must read for everyone who is stymied by premonitions of global warming. While Robert is not technically a scientist and most of his arguments are jaded, though he tries has to masquerade them as clever stats, I am still going with a 5star for the effort he took to be a contrarian in the world of global warming experts. The world energy problems can only be solved by continuing to burn fossil fuels. Most of other technologies ( except Solar) are mere blip in the energy needs of a country and developing nations shouldn't be buying on to this logic atleast for another 50 years.

jjmartinelli

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on November 22, 2014

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as advertised

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