China's Environmental Crisis: An Enquiry into the Limits of National Development

In 1982 Vaclav Smil turned upside down traditional perceptions of China as a green paradise in The Bad Earth a disturbing book. This new volume drawn on a much broader canvas updates and expands on the basic arguments and perceptions of The Bad Earth. This book is not a systematic litany of what went wrong and how much - but rather an inquiry into the fundamental factors needs prospects and limits of modern Chinese society all seen through the critical environmental constraints and impacts.