The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
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Book Reviews of The World Without Us
Book Review: A fascinating intellectual exercise
Summary: 5 Stars
The World Without Us concerns an interesting hypothetical scenario. What happens to the earth if humanity disappears? The cause of humanity's departure is irrelevant. Instead, what becomes of our cities? What happens to the massive human-created infrastructure that litters the planet? What are the long term effects of the environmental damage humanity has caused? What happens to animals and plants that we have directly affected over the centuries? Alan Weisman explores the answers to these fascinating, if somewhat morbid questions. Some people have criticized this book as a purely intellectual exercise with no real use or merit. My rejoinder is simple. We as humans cannot begin understand our impact on out planet without investigating our planet's reactions to us. This book does an excellent job of explaining the impact of the human footprint. Plus, I am admittedly a sucker for hypothetical scenarios such as this. What if? That has always been something that has interested me, and Alan Weisman looks into a very interesting and important What If? scenario.Book Review: Great Book
Summary: 5 Stars
One other person wrote that this book is fascinating but depressing and that is why he/she chose to give it less than 5 stars.
I beg to differ, one of the reasons why I gave it 5 stars is because it was depressing. It caused me a lot of anguish reading how much we have damaged this planet and how part of this damage will take 1000s of years to go away. I guess that would have been part of the message of this book, which it delivered on superbly.
Another user also chose to give it less than 5 stars because it had too much focus on NYC and not other places. Again I beg to differ; the book did devote a whole chapter to Houston. Also I do not think this a huge shortcoming for the book, after all, it was written by an "American" for a largely American audience. Additionally, I think the author was limited by space. He could have gone on and on about other places, but he would have ended at something like 500+ pages. I think the book did deliver on it's message within the limitation of 350+ pages.
Book Review: Fascinating Look at Our Effect on the Planet
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first picked up this book, I was concerned that it would simply be a lesson on how plants and animals would overtake our cities and houses once humans had disappeared from our planet. That is a major part of the book, but I never found it to be overdone. The parts of the book that I loved were the history and places that are explored in this book. From the DMZ zone in Korea to the nuclear fallout of Chernobyl to the beginnings of human history in Africa. There is a lot more to this book than should be judged from the cover.
I also loved the look into the everyday things that we use and how they affect the world around us. It really made me think about how small changes in what I use could make a difference.
This book is great for anyone interested in the effect that humans have had and are having on this world.
Book Review: the perfect gift
Summary: 5 Stars
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.Book Review: great story
Summary: 5 Stars
Fascinating story of how quickly the natural world would respond and recover from its human impact, how much maintenance work it takes to keep the planet 'habitable', and how much damage we do when our actions are not sustainable. The Iroquois tribe, when contemplating significant group actions, focused on its impact on "The Seventh Generation" - their descendants seven generations hence. Those of us without this wise tribal history would do well to read this book - to go and do likewise.