The World Without Us | 
 enlarge | Author: Alan Weisman
Creator: Adam Grupper
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $8.78
You Save: $31.17 (78%)
New (42) Used (13) from $8.53
Rating:  256 reviews
Sales Rank: 439906
Format: Audiobook, Cd
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 10
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 5.9 x 5.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 142720148X
Dewey Decimal Number: 304.2
EAN: 9781427201485
ASIN: 142720148X
Publication Date: July 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New Audio, slight shelf wear, remainder mark
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Discover the impact of the human footprint in The World Without Us. Take us off the Earth and what traces of us would linger? And which would disappear? Alan Weisman writes about which objects from today would vanish without us; how our pipes, wires, and cables would be pulverized into an unusual (but mere) line of red rock; why some museums and churches might be the last human creations standing; how rats and roaches would struggle without us; and how plastic, cast-iron, and radio waves may be our most lasting gifts to the planet.
But The World Without Us is also about how parts of our world currently fare without a human presence (Chernobyl; a Polish old-growth forest, the Korean DMZ) and it looks at the human legacy on Earth, both fleeting and indelible. It’s narrative nonfiction at its finest, taking an irresistible concept with gravity and a highly-readable touch.
Some examples of what would happen:
One year: Several more billions birds will live when airplane warning lights cease blinking.
Twenty years: The water-soaked steel columns that support the street above New York’s East Side would corrode and buckle. As Lexington Avenue caves in, it becomes a river.
100,000 years: CO2 will be back to pre-human levels (or it might take longer).
Forever: Our radio waves, fragmented as they may be, will still be going out.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 251 more reviews...
interesting visions of the future January 6, 2009
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.
 Illumanist bootlicker January 2, 2009
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
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 January 1, 2009
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.
Great concept, mediocre execution December 22, 2008
PROS:
- Tackles a fascinating thought experiment: what would happen to the planet if humans vanished overnight?
- Excellent research.
- It's hopeful in that it shows just how fast nature will take over, that life goes on and few will really miss our species. Often environmentalists like to think that humans are the worst thing that has ever happened to this planet, but they forget that far more devastation happened when a few asteroids blasted this planet.
- Reaches the correct, but unpopular, conclusion: if you want humans to have less impact on the planet, limit our population growth. Environmentalists who dream of minimizing human impact rarely talk about reversing human's growth rate. We can all live a low-impact existence, but that doesn't help if there are 100 billion of us. With the population doubling every 70 years, we'll get there in just 280 years. Most of the environmental change that we cause is not because we're evil, it's just because we want to live a decent life, just like every other living wants to do.
CONS:
- Lackluster writing. It's tedious, sluggish, and a bit academic. The sentences don't flow and they have awkward construction. It wasn't painful to read, but it wasn't a pleasure either.
- Needs more photos and illustrations. There are a couple of photos, but they're poor quality. To help envision a planet without us, illustrations and photos would have helped.
- Needs more headers and a better layout. It would help make the text more attractive.
CONCLUSION: Although I read many books, I usually buy only one book per year. This was that one book. I was so excited that I wanted this in my library. Although I'd like to re-read it someday, it's not as great as I hoped it would be. I wasn't bad either. If you're interested in this subject, then buy this book despite the criticism. You'll end up learning something, guaranteed. If you're not that interested, then skip it. I gave it four stars because of the conclusion and because it offers an outstanding perspective on this planet and our role in it.
 An eye opener December 16, 2008
When I read this book, it reminded me of another book I enjoyed, "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" by Jared Diamond. Yet this book put you at a distance as if you were a post-human-era visitor, interested but not panic, leaving room for your rationality to digest the discoveries, while feeling a faint sense of sadness. This was exactly the author had intended. In this aspect, Weisman is very successful and will serve as a good model for others to follow.
|
|
|
