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    The World Without Us
    The World Without Us
    The World Without Us
    Audiobook12 hours

    The World Without Us

    Written by Alan Weisman

    Narrated by Adam Grupper

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    About this audiobook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateJul 10, 2007
    ISBN9781427201492
    Author

    Alan Weisman

    ALAN WEISMAN, author of An Echo in My Blood and Gaviotas, has written for The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine and many others. He has been a contributing editor to The Los Angeles Times Magazine. A former Fulbright Senior Scholar in Colombia, he has received many awards, including a Los Angeles Press Club Award for Best Feature Story and a Robert F. Kennedy citation for reporting on the disadvantaged. He teaches international journalism at the University of Arizona.

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    Reviews for The World Without Us

    4/5

    1,433 ratings109 reviews

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    • 4/5
      It's a gooid read. Bleak at times. It's often interresting to imagine the world without us.
    • 3/5
      A collection of chapters about what would happen to the life and non-life of planet Earth if we were gone. Fascinating tidbits, but Weisman doesn't sew them together. Definitely worth a read, though.
    • 4/5
      I heard the author interviewed on the radio and saw him lecture in Seattle, so I came to this book knowing much of the premises, details, and conclusions already in mind, but the very concept of the book is a wonder: What would happen to the word if the human species suddenly vanished, by whatever means plausible or implausible, and left a planet behind without us. The havoc and detritus of humans upon this world is devastating to read about; the chapter on plastic alone should be sufficient for readers to completely reject grocery bags for reusable cloth sacks. You'll also learn what nature exactly will do to your home in you're absence, the fate of the New York subways, and what future species might think about the heaps of our trash and other waste materials.
    • 5/5
      Everyone should read this book - it will change your perspective on and deepen your understanding our entire existence.
    • 5/5
      What a deep and insightful journey into the planet we inhabit. Highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      It's hard for me to discuss this book from any angle without wanting to shout: "This book is awesome! You must read this book!" From the moment I heard the premise--what would happen to the earth if the human race were suddenly to disappear from it--I knew the notion could be a fascinating one, but Weisman could have screwed this up in any number of ways.The success of this book is in several places. One, Weisman manages to posit the realm o the relatively unlikely simultaneous cessation of all human life without making it sound morbid or frightening. This book is not a droning lecture about the ills we have caused mother nature, and it doesn't ever lose its little campfire of hope, burning at the center.But what Weisman accomplishes thematically, he even surpasses with content. This was an utter page-turner. It gave me the same slightly-creepy-wonderful feeling of a good suspense flick. I kept frustrating my husband when, every time we sat down to food or wait or in the park or wherever, I'd pull this book out of my bag and start feverishly reading. It's changed my outlook, too. Now I get nervous when I see Ailanthus saplings in vacant lots or in sidewalk cracks. I realize that nothing in nature is pure anymore. I feel real bad whenever I throw something away made of plastic. Each chapter takes you somewhere bizarre and new--it's clear Weisman had a blast researching for this book. From ancient underground cities in Turkey to wild and crumbled abandoned resorts in Cyprus to Mayan ruins to the beaches of England, you get around while reading this. Weisman's writing style is cheerful, thoughtful and clear. He explained the ozone layer's function in about two or three sentences that made absolute sense. Before I start on another verbal rampage about how nifty this read is, I'll just say: this is the best nonfiction book I have read in some time.
    • 3/5
      I'm judging Weisman's work a little more harshly than most here because I feel it's too slim and simple on presenting its ideas. Everything from this book can be found in the readings for a single introductory college course on environmental ethics or resource management--all it adds is the context suggested by the book's gimmicky title.That's not to say simple can't be excellent, but with how World... presents its info, it feels like Weisman did the bare minimum amount of research--as if his only source was a single introductory class or textbook filtered through a writer's whimsy. E.g., he shies away from referencing original research, and instead frequently mentions news articles inaccurately referencing original research as his sources. E.g., he references a number of outdated terms or ideas, such as continental drift or, positively, "The cure for pollution is dilution." (Ouch....)World... is an alright book, but there are certainly better-written alternatives out there that cover all the same material and more. And, as a science journalist with as big an audience as he has, Weisman really shouldn't be skimping out on his homework. That said, it's really not too bad if you're in need of an introduction to these environmental topics.
    • 2/5
      generally rather joyless. it was interesting -- the discussion of how cities and human artifacts decay was great -- but this was a rather small portion of the book. the greater portion of the book dwelled on the all-too-familiar ways that we humans are altering our environment for the worse. while the author sometimes begins to seem scientifically dispassionate, treating humans as a part of nature and describing our impact without moral opprobium, these few instances are scant emotional respite from the litany of ways by which, like it or not, we are instituting a new, and wholly anthropogenic, mass extinction.
    • 2/5
      This book makes me wish I could give half-star ratings. The book is described as a hypothetical romp through time based on the single question, What would the world be like without us? If we simply disappeared, how would Earth react? Weisman certainly has the mind to play with this theoretical model and his book is the result of playing in his sandbox.

      I enjoyed immensely his simplest description of the world without us. He opens with a description, quite detailed, of what happens to the average home after years of neglect; and, having been in construction and repair for years, I found his thinking to be spot on. Weisman lost me when he decided to pursue the development of humans in the heart of Africa. I understood the why of it, as it tied into the model, but it wasn't enjoyable. Loads of anthropology vocabulary. His work on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was interesting. I ended up reading more on that topic as a result.

      Bottom line: The book is clever and well thought out. But, it's depressing. Entropy is a reality, but I'm not sure I want to spend my time focused on it. Good book for a college classroom or even select excerpts in high school.
    • 4/5
      One of the reviews of this book uses the term "Thought Exercise" to describe what The World Without Us actually is. This is a perfect description. Although Alan Weisman tells us what his research shows will happen if humans were wisked from this earth, what this book really shows us is how much we have changed (ruined) the earth.This is a must read for those who care about our relationship to the earth and what will happen in the future is we don't change our ways.
    • 4/5
      Fascinating in a macabre way. This look at the planet and how it might react to the sudden departure of man is a mix of the amazing comeback power of nature and the legacy humans will leave even in their absence. And the brief interlude on serial killer cats does throw in a dash of the thriller... Great read in a great style!
    • 4/5
      The author envisions a world where humans no longer exist, and takes us on a tour of what exactly could be expected in the event that humans should cease to exist, through some means that doesn't leave dead, decaying bodies behind. A good discussion of ecological principles and the structure of the earth and its activities.
    • 4/5
      The premise of the book -- if humans were to disappear all at once, what would happen to the world -- is a really interesting idea, and the author's discursive approach to the topic visits interesting places and people. It felt to me that the question could have been pushed further: how long, really, will our various structures and impacts really last after we stop maintaining them; what identifiable signs will we leave in the geologic record, and how would a future archaeologist (presumably from a newly evolved or extra-terrestrial species) come to learn about us, or could they; how does the vision of a world without us suggest we should prioritize current environmental challenges. The book offers some answers to each of these -- buildings won't last long; nuclear waste and bronze statutes will last a very long time; lowering the overall human population would be a very good idea, if we can pull it off -- but often the answers felt more anecdotal than searching. It's still an impressive exercise, and well worth reading. I'd have greatly appreciated the inclusion of a short time line showing the relative spans it will take for various human traces to be worn away; a graphical representation of this would have be helpful in sorting out the various orders of magnitude.
    • 5/5
      What a fascinating and effective way to examine the effects of human activity on the environment. Well written; beautifully drawn speculation based on a wealth of research. Invites us in by removing us from the picture to face the hard facts...but allows us also, by exercising our imagination, to imagine the future of a world with us.
    • 5/5
      reads well companioned by where the wild things were
    • 4/5
      For those days when I take solace in the fact that all humans will be wiped out one day...
    • 2/5
      I really don't know what to think of this book. The author was certainly thorough in covering his topic, and the writing was perfectly fine, and the material was well researched, but it just seemed to be....all over the place.

      Perhaps it was the fact that I listened to this as an audiobook rather than read it on paper, but I had a hard time grasping why he was jumping from one place to the next, or where he was going. The topics range all over the planet, through time backwards and forwards, and through different points of interest as to "what might happen to X if we all disappeared". Just not sure why one followed another. Someone else suggested that the "Coda" at the end should really have come first, as it does explain why the author took up this topic. I agree that would have helped me.

      Unfortunately, when the audiobook ended I was left more glad that it was done than happy that I'd sat through it. I can't say that I recommend this book.
    • 3/5
      Another entry in the ever-popular "interesting magazine article padded out to not-so-interesting book length" category.
    • 3/5
      Fascinating, but wanders a bit.
    • 4/5
      Not so much the extrapolation of the title as an argument the world would be BETTER OFF without us. We're bad, and apparently have been since prehistory when we wiped out all sorts of great big animals. It's disheartening to be clubbed in the head with everything your species has done and is doing wrong. I'm currently reading a book called "The Uninhabitable Earth," which specifically addresses global warming, and is basically "game over." I have a considerable collection of apocalypse fiction, and as grim as some of it is, none of it can hold a candle to books like these. The disaster is already upon us, and books like this are as likely to cause despair as action. We need a plan and instead we have willfully ignorant politicians and science deniers and people with their heads up their asses.
    • 3/5
      A study of all the myriad ways the earth would be affected if humans up and disappeared all at once. I have a bit of a fascination with urban decay, so learning about what would happen to our infrastructure without upkeep was really cool. Unfortunately, the author gave the distinct impression that the world would be better off without people, which was kind of tiresome. I'm all for reducing one's footprint, but it was strongly implied that humans are interlopers on our home planet. All that aside, the bits about history and technology were pretty cool. Just don't expect a tale of hope and human ingenuity.
    • 3/5
      I got this book on CD from the library because I had watched the History Channel special based on this book and enjoyed it. I expected the book to be similar to the TV program--a look into what the world would be like if humans suddenly disappeared. The book does cover this, but mostly it discusses how humans are currently ruining the planet and that the world would be better off without us. That may be true, but it's depressing to listen to for 12 hours!
    • 4/5
      I found this book fascinating. The author looked into many different parts of human civilization to see what would be going on if humans disappeared. Cities, subways, ancient ruins, nuclear power plants, coral reefs, Panama Canal... The list goes on and on. By looking at what could happen, I learned a lot about what has already happened.
    • 4/5
      I love books that teach me stuff, but I really love books that make me think! This is a fascinating look at what would happen to our world if human being all disappeared at the same time. What would happen to our homes, subways, pets, the ocean, the nuclear waste sites, etc! To figure out what would happen in the future the author has to briefly take us back to the past; and he does so in an accessible and entertaining way.
    • 5/5
      This book answers the question: what would happen if all humans suddenly disappeared off the Earth? What will happen to dormant and forgotten nuclear warheads and all the plastic in the oceans? The answers are fascinating and often alarming.

      This is a fantastic book and I love this genre, but this stuff can be heartbreaking to take in. Our species is seemingly at war with the very planet we depend on.
    • 4/5
      Very well done and full of information that everyone should know about. My only criticism is that it is organized oddly and as a result has a few spots of repetition. Otherwise excellent.
    • 4/5
      Sehr faszinierend beschrieben, und in gewisser Weise sehr tröstlich.
    • 5/5
      Weisman uses as his starting point a hypothetical future in which humans vanish and the earth slowly reacts to our absence. However, his real purpose seems to be to provide a tour of some of our most ecologically endangering activities, the damage that even without us the earth will not be able to decompose, grow over or otherwise heal. Written in an engaging style with plenty of human interest through interviews and great description, this helped me see environmental issues in new ways.
    • 5/5
      I first read this three or four years ago, and it has stayed with me ever since. It looks at the changes humans have made to the world, and how long those changes would persist if we all vanished from the Earth. Our cities and most other man-made surface structures are surprisingly ephemeral, but our nuclear and chemical legacies will persist into geologic time.
    • 5/5
      Some books that you read make you question everything. Alan Weisman's The World Without Us is definitely one of those books. The book seeks to answer the question 'What would happen to the world if humans were to disappear?' I've read books that look at it from the flip side of the coin where humans have destroyed the planet to such a degree that humanity can no longer be sustained. It was interesting to look at the reverse. Weisman looked at the issue from a variety of viewpoints. He looked at the evolution of humans and their impact on the megafauna and megaflora of the planet. His point there was that although much of the animals and plants were eradicated by us, variations of these have survived into present day. Therefore, if humanity were to disappear nature would find a way to carry on and maybe another kind of humanity would take our place. He also looked at the damage we have done through chemical processes (I'm talking nuclear) and whether or not the planet's remaining inhabitants could survive. He went to a variety of places where it was as close to being primeval as possible (Kingman Reef) and also those places which were irrevocably changed by us (Chernobyl). He spoke to scientists of all disciplines (many of which sound like amazing careers that I need to look into immediately). It was a thoroughly researched and thought provoking read and I encourage anyone interested in conservancy and ecology to go and give this book a shot.