The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
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Book Reviews of The World Without Us
Book Review: Without information on potential improvement, the fascinating, grim message is rendered hopeless and useless. Not recommended
Summary: 3 Stars
What would happen to the world if, sometime in the immediate future, without a catastrophe that damaged the planet, every human on Earth were to disappear? This is the premise of The World Without Us, which explores the effect of man's absence across the the world: the swift disintegration of homes and cities, the long-lasting effects of pollution and plastic, the health and death of flora and fauna. The topic is interesting and eye-opening, but the book leaves something to be desired. The narrative lacks structure and the voice is stinted, and while Weisman discusses, in detail, the damage done by man, the premise cripples the usefulness of the book: he does not provide any alternative, any advice on how his readers can change or control their impact on the earth in the likely event that mankind doesn't disappear tomorrow. As a result, this book is a long and painful read, and its grim message, although well worth hearing, is rendered useless by the lack of real-world advice. I don't recommend it.
I found The World Without Us disappointing and depressing--but I don't disagree with Weisman's message. Urban skyscrapers and suburban houses may swiftly crumble without human occupation, but some effects of human habitation on earth--extinction, introduced species, pollution, plastics, nuclear waste--will be remain for thousands or millions of years, whether we stay or disappear. Pulling on past events, longterm trends, some theorizing, and a wealth of research, Weisman shows both sides: those which would bounce back, and those which may never be rid of humanity's indelible mark. The hopeful improvements are overwhelmed by the negative lasting impact, especially when Weisman concedes that mankind will probably still be around tomorrow and the the centuries to come. The message is depressing but it is also true, and it serves as grim and brutal wakeup call to the reader: by nature of our very existence, exacerbated by modern life, humans damage the planet that we inhabit.
This message is true, but it is also little more than depressing because Weiman fails to provide any information about what mankind can take to decrease their negative impact on the planet. He provides no information about positive effects, nothing on potential change, no advice local or large. If anything, Weisman makes it seem as if there is nothing we can do--the damage done is too great, and humanity as a whole has no desire to change, so we will continue to harm the planet for as long as we live here. The reader has nothing to take away except for complete hopelessness. As a result, the book is long and slow, depressing to read and difficult to pick back up each time you set it down--factors which are exacerbated by the apparent lack of structure, which leaves the book's many subtopics floating unconnected, and Weisman's stinted writing style, which reads not unlike a newspaper article and makes for tedious style to fill an entire book.
In short, The World Without Us is depressing. It is depressing because it offers unsettling information about the impact that humans have on the planet, information which is true and well worth reading. However, the book fails to be a dire warning with the potential to urge its readers to action; instead, it offers no hope, no action, no real-world application at all. Compounded by mediocre writing, I simply can't recommend this book. The premise is fascinating and the content is meaningful, but in the end this book is simply too difficult to read with too little redeeming content. I don't recommend it.
Book Review: But Who Will Take Out The Trash?
Summary: 3 Stars
There's just too much darn plastic everywhere. Once it gets in the ocean, it doesn't leave. That stuff will be constipating fish and zooplankton long after the E.P.A. mandates that all plastic products be made out of stuff that doesn't contain any plastic. I say take all the plastic waste and throw it in with all the nuclear waste in some mountain in a country we don't take kindly to (but we should put a lock on a fence around the mountain so the bad guys don't make terrorist trinkets with all that junk). The real problem is that there are just too many people messing up the planet (as usual). Weisman didn't mention Wal-Mart by name as an entity messing up the planet (not to mention such nice neighborhoods as Inglewood), but I bet he sure wanted to. Of course, I personally have nothing against Wal-Mart except for all those darn shoppers that keep getting in my way while I'm trying to buy stuff. To sum it all up: we are all going to die and take out a whole bunch of biomass in the process because of our [as a species] gross and negligent industrializational [spiffy new word, eh?] by-products and plastic. But once we are all dead and really long, long, long gone but before the sun goes super-charged-Nova (which is just plain silly and a waste of money and gas) and fries our dearly beloved planet to a crisp memory: THEN the earth will be a truly great place to live or at least vacation. Book Review: Thought Provoking and So Original
Summary: 5 Stars
I had only heard a very brief description of The World Without Us, and caught a brief snatch of the author being interviewed ona BBC Radio Prog.
My imagination was fired up from these brief moments and I bought the book almost immediately. I could not put it down once I started reading it. I read it over two evenings, and I am now in a second reading of the book. The science in the first part of the book is pitched at lay-man level and very easily understood. Throughout the book I was so impressed with what must have been a mammoth task undertaken by the author, going to many parts of the world to uncover the facts which abound in this book. I have to loan the book out to my immediate family soon, as they are fed up with me going on about it!
Book Review: Endlessly fascinating
Summary: 5 Stars
A beautifully researched and written book, the kind you simply cannot put down once you start reading. While I (like some other readers) expected this to be solely about what would happen to manmade things if humans somehow disappeared, I'm glad Weisman stretched the premise. By interviewing expects in many fields, he shows what we as a species have done/are doing to this world. It's a real eye-opener -- and, yes, endlessly fascinating.Book Review: An Important, Thought-Provoking Book
Summary: 5 Stars
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started to read "The World Without Us." Its premise is intriguing--what would happen if an unspecified global catastrophe, such as a highly selective disease, completely wiped out the human race but left unscathed the buildings, roadways, cities, bridges, factories, shopping malls and other cultural and technological artifacts of civilization? How long would it take for the slow but inexorable forces of rot, decay and erosion to eradicate all evidence of the existence of homo sapiens on the Earth? What effect would the vanishing of the human race have on the other fauna and flora with which we now share our ecosystem?
I thought "The Earth Without Us" would be rather dry. One of the things I expected to find was an analysis of how a typical city would decay over time. Without humans around to repair them, for example, roofs would soon begin to leak, letting in rain, snow and dirt. Then the interiors would become habitats for rats, birds, feral dogs and cats and other creatures. Then the mortar between bricks would crumble, and exterior walls would fail. Steel bridges would rust away and crumble, etc., etc. I didn't see how author Alan Weisman could sustain such an analysis for a few hundred pages without becoming repetitive and boring. Well, there IS such an analysis, but it is neither repetitive nor boring. There is MUCH more to "The World Without Us."
It is actually nothing less than a superb, wide-ranging, single-volume evaluation of the myriad effects that humans have had on the Earth over the millennia, and of the ways in which natural processes might eliminate those effects in the far future (if ever). It is a highly readable, lively, scientifically accurate ecological primer that explains, in terms that anyone can understand, the environmental issues that often capture today's headlines--ozone depletion, PCBs, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), nonbiodegradable plastics, global warming, and a host of others. "The World Without Us" is also an eloquent wake-up call. For example, the chapter "Hot Legacy" explores what would happen to commercial nuclear power plants and their waste-storage facilities if humans were no longer around to tend them. Imagine the Soviet Chernobyl disaster repeated 441 times--the number of nuclear power plants in the world. This chapter should be required reading for anyone who thinks that building more nuclear power plants is the answer to the world's energy problems.
I cannot recommend "The Earth Without Us" too highly. I doubt that it can convert diehard anti-environmentalists--nor do I think that is its purpose. But it is an immensely valuable and informative resource for those who believe that humans HAVE adversely affected the earth, and who think it may not be too late to do something about it. A "must read" for every thoughtful homo sapien.