The World Without Us (ISBN 142720148X)

the perfect gift:
Both my husband and I read this book with avid interest. It caught our eye in an airport bookstore as something to read while traveling. The reader is immediately engaged by the remarkable way the facts are presented through the past, present, and likely future. I found some of the information stunning (such as the mass of floating plastic in the Pacific), and all of it very informative. We found it beautifully written and hard to put down. One cannot help but come to the conclusion that man has not been a very good steward of the land that we inhabit, yet the Earth itself is extremely resilient. We ordered a few more books, and gave them to environmentally sensitive friends as Christmas presents. Reactions were all positive. Perhaps we should have gifted those who are not as sensitive. There is a lesson here.

interesting visions of the future:
very interesting book that does a good job of using historical and current phenomenon to illustrate how things would turn out. personally, i love the idea of a world without people and found this to be a very appealing book.

Simpler Times:
What would happen if all every human being suddenly ceased to exist? Alan Weisman hypothesizes this very idea in his book The World Without Us. Weisman paints a world without the human race, imagining what would happen to the civilization we so carefully maintain. The book is filled with facts and oddities that will keep you interested. It is well-written, and never gets bogged down with the complexities of the science involved. Weisman intended to create an overview of the Earth minus humans, and he accomplished it with poise. Weisman describes New York City's fate if left unattended, explaining how its geography and current engineering are tied together to create a water hazard that is always on the verge of a significant flood. He also visits several different sites where humans have vanished almost instantaneously, such as the DMZ in Korea or a city torn by civil war in Cyprus. There is also extensive information on paleolithic peoples and fauna, creating a picture of what life was like for Earth before humanity was so vast. My only criticism is that Weisman stays too general at times. The chapter on New York City describes minute mechanisms of a city falling apart. But this is one of the few sections of the book that actually does this. The rest of the book just conjectures and provides a bird's eye view of the world. But like I said earlier, this is what Weisman intended to do. This is an excellent book that will make you think about your impact on the environment and what effect humans have on the world around us. If a book can be entertaining and conscientious, then it must be a good read.

Illumanist bootlicker:
I loved Weisman's "Gaviotas," as a story of hope and possibilities, but romanticizing the Illumanist agenda of killing off all or all but 500,000 (closely-related) humans is hardly laudable. True, humanity has utterly lost its way. The planet is a mess. We're a mess. Read the Ringing Cedars series (Anastasia) if you want to see the path out of the dark wood and glimpse a shining collective future.

I Should Have Just Read The Essay:
The World Without us is a fascinating concept book. Looking at how the earth would reclaim the urban sprawl is utterly compelling and fairly depressing. Through exploring this concept the book also deals with deep environmental issues and how we attempt to control the forces of nature in order to exist on the planet. All this is utterly engaging for a while, and then it just gets old. The book was based on an essay and that's where I think it would be strongest. The book feels bloated and overly fleshed out. Midway through I felt I had gotten everything I would get out of the book, and when I finished I realized I had. Still a worth wile read if the concept is one which engages you, although I wish I had just read the essay.