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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/248787.The_World_Without_Us?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The World Without Us" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XG6tSOFrL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/248787.The_World_Without_Us?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The World Without Us</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/79216.Alan_Weisman">Alan Weisman</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32429232?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is basically what the title claims it to be--a look at the world if humans were to suddenly become extinct. Wesiman provides a very thorough analysis of what would happen to our homes, cities, waste, etc once we are gone. He also explores what would become of the world's oceans, plants, and animals.
 
 I thought this book was very well researched. Not only does Weisman use speculation from very knowledgeable scientists the world over, but he takes a look at the real history of people including the evolution of man and the rise and fall of now extinct cultures such as the Mayas. By looking at this history it is perhaps easy to see what present-day man has in store for the future. 
 
 One of the central themes of this book is that humans are dying out and that this is an inevitable fact. Everything on the planet including plants and animals goes through these cycles--it has been happening for millions of years. It is only reasonable to assume that man will eventually be gone as well. What makes Wesiman's book interesting is not the fact that much of modern humanity will disappear into the undergrowth of forests and rivers, but it is what will stick around after we are gone. Things such as plastic and nuclear waste have the potential to last for hundreds of thousands of years after we are gone. Yes, some great human achievements such as the carvings on Mount Rushmore and the Chunnel will stick around for awhile but according to Weisman these great accomplishments will be small in comparison to the tons of plastic particles and other waste that will continue floating through the oceans and in landfills. It seems sad that we can uncover wonderful treasures from great civilizations such as the Egyptians, the Romans, and the Maya--awesome temples, pyramids, ceramics, and art--and the only truly viable remains of our great civilization will most likely be Barbie dolls and highly toxic chemical waste. Oh and some radio and television broadcasts that are floating light years away in space.
 
 I liked this book but it did have a very strong "humans are destructors of nature" theme. It seemed that in just about every chapter Weisman comes back to this--if it weren't for man screwing things up we would have this wonderful world of large magnificent animals, sparkling waters, and great diversity. As much as it offended me--he probably is right in some respects. Yes, humans have the right to consume just as any other plant or animal has the right to take what it needs from the environment. But what if what we are taking is more than we need and what we are giving back is not so helpful to our environment? This is the theory that Weisman explores--if humans can live with nature (as opposed to rapidly consuming it) then we might have just a little bit more time here and our impact on the future of the planet may be a little bit less harmful. But I think most people are aware of this. The problem is most of us are just too lazy to make that trip to the recycling bin or take public transportation instead of using our cars. We are so separated from our environment that it is difficult to understand the huge impact we are having by our simple daily consumption. When will we get to that breaking point where we realize that there are too many of us and not enough resources? I mean would our society really be able to implement population controls like countries such as China? What if the future survival of the human race depended on it? Should we start now? This book indicates that the answers to questions such as this should be yes, but like a good environmental treatise the author leaves this for the reader to infer.
 
 This book is great if you are interested in the topic and it provides some good insight into the history and future of our planet once we are gone. The author provides some good facts and posits some interesting questions, but of course it is up to the reader to take that next step whatever that may be.
 
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/907069?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Ashley's review
rating:

status: Read in September, 2008

This book is basically what the title claims it to be--a look at the world if humans were to suddenly become extinct. Wesiman provides a very thorough analysis of what would happen to our homes, cities, waste, etc once we are gone. He also explores what would become of the world's oceans, plants, and animals.

I thought this book was very well researched. Not only does Weisman use speculation from very knowledgeable scientists the world over, but he takes a look at the real history of people including the evolution of man and the rise and fall of now extinct cultures such as the Mayas. By looking at this history it is perhaps easy to see what present-day man has in store for the future.

One of the central themes of this book is that humans are dying out and that this is an inevitable fact. Everything on the planet including plants and animals goes through these cycles--it has been happening for millions of years. It is only reasonable to assume that man will eventually be gone as...more This book is basically what the title claims it to be--a look at the world if humans were to suddenly become extinct. Wesiman provides a very thorough analysis of what would happen to our homes, cities, waste, etc once we are gone. He also explores what would become of the world's oceans, plants, and animals.

I thought this book was very well researched. Not only does Weisman use speculation from very knowledgeable scientists the world over, but he takes a look at the real history of people including the evolution of man and the rise and fall of now extinct cultures such as the Mayas. By looking at this history it is perhaps easy to see what present-day man has in store for the future.

One of the central themes of this book is that humans are dying out and that this is an inevitable fact. Everything on the planet including plants and animals goes through these cycles--it has been happening for millions of years. It is only reasonable to assume that man will eventually be gone as well. What makes Wesiman's book interesting is not the fact that much of modern humanity will disappear into the undergrowth of forests and rivers, but it is what will stick around after we are gone. Things such as plastic and nuclear waste have the potential to last for hundreds of thousands of years after we are gone. Yes, some great human achievements such as the carvings on Mount Rushmore and the Chunnel will stick around for awhile but according to Weisman these great accomplishments will be small in comparison to the tons of plastic particles and other waste that will continue floating through the oceans and in landfills. It seems sad that we can uncover wonderful treasures from great civilizations such as the Egyptians, the Romans, and the Maya--awesome temples, pyramids, ceramics, and art--and the only truly viable remains of our great civilization will most likely be Barbie dolls and highly toxic chemical waste. Oh and some radio and television broadcasts that are floating light years away in space.

I liked this book but it did have a very strong "humans are destructors of nature" theme. It seemed that in just about every chapter Weisman comes back to this--if it weren't for man screwing things up we would have this wonderful world of large magnificent animals, sparkling waters, and great diversity. As much as it offended me--he probably is right in some respects. Yes, humans have the right to consume just as any other plant or animal has the right to take what it needs from the environment. But what if what we are taking is more than we need and what we are giving back is not so helpful to our environment? This is the theory that Weisman explores--if humans can live with nature (as opposed to rapidly consuming it) then we might have just a little bit more time here and our impact on the future of the planet may be a little bit less harmful. But I think most people are aware of this. The problem is most of us are just too lazy to make that trip to the recycling bin or take public transportation instead of using our cars. We are so separated from our environment that it is difficult to understand the huge impact we are having by our simple daily consumption. When will we get to that breaking point where we realize that there are too many of us and not enough resources? I mean would our society really be able to implement population controls like countries such as China? What if the future survival of the human race depended on it? Should we start now? This book indicates that the answers to questions such as this should be yes, but like a good environmental treatise the author leaves this for the reader to infer.

This book is great if you are interested in the topic and it provides some good insight into the history and future of our planet once we are gone. The author provides some good facts and posits some interesting questions, but of course it is up to the reader to take that next step whatever that may be.

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