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The World Without Us

By Alan Weisman

(53)

| Hardcover | 9780312347291

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Book Description

A penetrating, page-turning tour of a post-human Earth

In The World Without Us, Alan Weisman offers an utterly original approach to questions of humanity’s impact on the planet: he asks us to envision our Earth, without us.In this far-reaching narrative, Weisman explains how our massive infrastructure would collapse and finally vanish without human presence; which everyday items may become immortalized as fossils; how copper pipes and wiring would be crushed into mere seams of reddish rock; why some of our earliest buildings might be the last architecture left; and how plastic, bronze sculpture, radio waves, and some man-made molecules may be our most lasting gifts to the universe.The World Without Us reveals how, just days after humans disappear, floods in New York’s subways would start eroding the city’s foundations, and how, as the world’s cities crumble, asphalt jungles would give way to real ones. It describes the distinct ways that organic and chemically treated farms would revert to wild, how billions more birds would flourish, and how cockroaches in unheated cities would perish without us. Drawing on the expertise of engineers, atmospheric scientists, art conservators, zoologists, oil refiners, marine biologists, astrophysicists, religious leaders from rabbis to the Dali Lama, and paleontologists---who describe a prehuman world inhabited by megafauna like giant sloths that stood taller than mammoths---Weisman illustrates what the planet might be like today, if not for us.From places already devoid of humans (a last fragment of primeval European forest; the Korean DMZ; Chernobyl), Weisman reveals Earth’s tremendous capacity for self-healing. As he shows which human devastations are indelible, and which examples of our highest art and culture would endure longest, Weisman’s narrative ultimately drives toward a radical but persuasive solution that needn't depend on our demise. It is narrative nonfiction at its finest, and in posing an irresistible concept with both gravity and a highly readable touch, it looks deeply at our effects on the planet in a way that no other book has.

Critics

Starting Over

When Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” was published in 1963, the chemical giant Monsanto struck back with a parody called “Desolate Spring” that envisioned an America laid waste not by pesticides but by insects: “The bugs were everywhere. Unseen. Unhe ... (read full critics)

nytimes published on Sat, 18 Sep 2010

The World Without Us By Alan Weisman

In his latest book, which was a finalist for the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award, Weisman, an acclaimed journalist and science writer, explores the darkest of possibilities: what would happen on Earth if mankind became extinct? To formulate a ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

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11 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

Not what I expected

The subject of the book is something I often thought about, so when I heard of the book I knew I wanted to read it. This summer I chanced on a copy at a local bookstore and bought it. I was disappointed. It is a good book about the environment and the dangers it is under, but only rarely does it di ... (continue)

The subject of the book is something I often thought about, so when I heard of the book I knew I wanted to read it. This summer I chanced on a copy at a local bookstore and bought it. I was disappointed. It is a good book about the environment and the dangers it is under, but only rarely does it discuss the topic of the title: a thought experiment of how the world would evolve after we are gone. How long till the signs of our passing would be wiped out? "A long time" seems to be the only disappointing answer I can get from this book.

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Stefano said on Aug 21, 2008 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

Bit heavy-going in places as Weisman likes facts and figures, but the very important message overrides it all, all human beings should read it !

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Fay Ng said on Mar 28, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

Provoking

Everything remains the same, countries, cities, buildings, offices and homes...just without human being...What would happen in a 'No-Man-World'?First come to my head is cockcoaches. And very many of them. They are crawling, jumping and fl ... (continue)

Everything remains the same, countries, cities, buildings, offices and homes...just without human being...What would happen in a 'No-Man-World'?First come to my head is cockcoaches. And very many of them. They are crawling, jumping and flying everywhere. Very likely they are the one to rule the World immediately after us!And secondly, plants. Again, lots of them will suddenly growing wildly and freely with enough water and sunlight.You'll find here in the book that what most likely would happen. Interesting and worth us a serious thought.

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Jet2 said on Oct 25, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

An interesting book which held my attention until the end. It is more a wandering of the authors mind along paths of subjects all related to the title of the book. Rather than a straight forward explanation of what the world would be like without us. Worth reading if you enjoy anything related to th ... (continue)

An interesting book which held my attention until the end. It is more a wandering of the authors mind along paths of subjects all related to the title of the book. Rather than a straight forward explanation of what the world would be like without us. Worth reading if you enjoy anything related to this earth we live on.

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Wriite Me said on Aug 16, 2011 | Add your feedback

One of the most thought-provoking books I have ever read. We now often hear how we are wrecking havoc and how better the world would be without us. Now this book now really put this into perspective.

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Archer said on Jul 15, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Man that was a lot of hard words.
Admittedly, this was a little out of my league. For a fifth of the time, I honestly can't quite mentally formulate the picture the author was painting. It was no fault of his. Beyond that, this book was an amazing tale of a thought experiment. very interesting in ... (continue)

Man that was a lot of hard words.
Admittedly, this was a little out of my league. For a fifth of the time, I honestly can't quite mentally formulate the picture the author was painting. It was no fault of his. Beyond that, this book was an amazing tale of a thought experiment. very interesting indeed.

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elitie said on Apr 16, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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Book Details

Rating:
(53)
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English Books
Hardcover 304 Pages
ISBN-10: 0312347294
ISBN-13: 9780312347291
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Pub date: Jul 10, 2007
Also available as: Paperback, Audio CD and Others
In other languages: other languages 繁體書, 简体书, Livres Français, Deutsche Bücher, Libros en Español, Libri Italiani