Reviewed By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Take a quick peek outside your window and check out
the scenery. Are there trees and grass all around, or do
you see lots of buildings? Does the land gently slope
here, or are there craggy rocks over there? Now, think a
minute. Can you imagine what your corner of the world
might have looked like to the first person who ever saw
it? And would it go back to being that way if — poof! —
you suddenly disappeared?
There are plenty of similar, thought-provoking questions
in the new book The World Without Us by Alan Weisman.
Summertime usually means construction time in most areas of the country, but builders
aren’t the only busy people. Homeowners spend weekends maintaining their houses,
road crews make repairs on streets, and grounds crews keep parks debris-free. But if
we ceased to exist, and without our diligent care and upkeep, what would happen to our
buildings, roads, or cities?
The answer is surprising.
Weisman says that the average barn would collapse within 10 years. Homes would be
near-unrecognizable in 100 years, tops. Manhattan would be in ruins, re-claimed by
wildlife, trees and plants within 300 years; a mere blip on Earth’s timeline. From New
England forests criss-crossed with crumbling centuries-old stone fences to off-shore
Pacific coral reefs choking on plastic garbage, we humans have clearly made our mark,
but nature would quickly (relatively speaking) take back the planet if we weren’t around to
continually mess with it.
But before we go, Weisman wants us to know where we’ve been and what we did. If, as
some scientists claim, humans crossed over the Bering Strait into Alaska and migrated
south during the Ice Age, were they responsible for the mass extinction of large North
American creatures like the Giant Sloth or the mammoth? When we’re gone, will
imported plants and birds — brought here with good intentions gone awry — take over
completely? What would happen to nuclear weapons and stored poisons if we weren’t
around to keep them safely tucked away? If we disappeared, is there a chance that
humankind could re-appear in another couple million years?
Got chores to finish, household repairs to make, maintenance to tend? Don’t pick up this
book, then, because you won’t get any further than your easy chair if you do.
The World Without Us is one of the most engrossing, provocative, thought-starting,
discussion-springing books I think I have ever read. Author Alan Weisman — a first-rate
storyteller — vividly describes scenarios as he hypothesizes; he prods a few scientists
and experts for conjecture; and he goads readers into thinking differently about evolution,
conservation, pollution, and the nuclear industry. Although this book is obviously heavy on
science, you’ll hardly notice because Weisman yanks you in and entertains you while he
expands your mind.
aren’t the only busy people. Homeowners spend weekends maintaining their houses,
road crews make repairs on streets, and grounds crews keep parks debris-free. But if
we ceased to exist, and without our diligent care and upkeep, what would happen to our
buildings, roads, or cities?
The answer is surprising.
Weisman says that the average barn would collapse within 10 years. Homes would be
near-unrecognizable in 100 years, tops. Manhattan would be in ruins, re-claimed by
wildlife, trees and plants within 300 years; a mere blip on Earth’s timeline. From New
England forests criss-crossed with crumbling centuries-old stone fences to off-shore
Pacific coral reefs choking on plastic garbage, we humans have clearly made our mark,
but nature would quickly (relatively speaking) take back the planet if we weren’t around to
continually mess with it.
But before we go, Weisman wants us to know where we’ve been and what we did. If, as
some scientists claim, humans crossed over the Bering Strait into Alaska and migrated
south during the Ice Age, were they responsible for the mass extinction of large North
American creatures like the Giant Sloth or the mammoth? When we’re gone, will
imported plants and birds — brought here with good intentions gone awry — take over
completely? What would happen to nuclear weapons and stored poisons if we weren’t
around to keep them safely tucked away? If we disappeared, is there a chance that
humankind could re-appear in another couple million years?
Got chores to finish, household repairs to make, maintenance to tend? Don’t pick up this
book, then, because you won’t get any further than your easy chair if you do.
The World Without Us is one of the most engrossing, provocative, thought-starting,
discussion-springing books I think I have ever read. Author Alan Weisman — a first-rate
storyteller — vividly describes scenarios as he hypothesizes; he prods a few scientists
and experts for conjecture; and he goads readers into thinking differently about evolution,
conservation, pollution, and the nuclear industry. Although this book is obviously heavy on
science, you’ll hardly notice because Weisman yanks you in and entertains you while he
expands your mind.
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