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.
It's almost disturbing that this book is so interesting. Weisman examines what the Earth would be like if there were no more humans. Assuming some sort of apocalypse that wipes us from the menu of mammals, he takes the long view, describing how our remnants would crumble and fade away over time--in some cases a very long time. Narrator Adam Grupper enhances this fascinating perspective through his impeccable reading, which is both sincere and balanced. Never veering into sensationalism, always objective and phlegmatic, Grupper takes what could be a depressing topic and makes it a book you just can't stop listening to. This combination of science, history, and futurology teaches us much about who we are and what we will leave behind. K.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature...
This is one of the grandest thought experiments of our time, a tremendous feat of imaginative reporting!
About the Author
Alan Weisman is an award-winning journalist whose reports have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, Discover, on NPR, and more. He has been a contributing editor to The Los Angeles Times Magazine and is Associate Professor in Journalism and Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.
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