The World Without Us

Science and nature

First published: 2007
Print length: 432 pagesPicador, 2008

Description

Alan Weisman begins with an impossible premise: every human being has suddenly vanished. He then asks scientists, engineers, conservationists, and other specialists what would happen next to cities, farms, waterways, wildlife, and the materials civilization leaves behind. Field reports from Chernobyl, Varosha, the Panama Canal, and relatively human-free habitats show vegetation, weather, and animals steadily reclaiming altered ground. Other chapters trace the longer futures of plastics, petroleum systems, nuclear facilities, and artworks, distinguishing what may decay from what could persist for millennia. The World Without Us uses environmental reportage as a guided thought experiment, revealing both nature’s capacity to overtake abandoned structures and the durable hazards through which humanity might remain present long after its absence.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Descriptive · Direct · Journalistic

Pace

Moderate

Tone

Cerebral · Eerie · Reflective · Unsettling

Structure

Episodic

Focus

Ideas · Information · World

Emotional intensity

3 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 3 / 5
Ideas: 4 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 2 / 5

Themes

LegacyMortalityNature and environmentSurvivalTechnology and society

About Alan Weisman

Alan Weisman is an American author, journalist, and professor whose nonfiction combines international field reporting with ambitious questions about humanity’s place in the natural world. He builds broad arguments from interviews with specialists, visits to altered landscapes, and careful attention to physical processes. The World Without Us turns the sudden disappearance of humanity into a sustained thought experiment, moving between Chernobyl, Varosha, the Panama Canal, and less inhabited environments. Its structure shifts across timescales and materials, following the decay of cities and farms while tracing the far longer persistence of plastics, nuclear facilities, and artworks. Weisman has also produced radio documentaries and reported for major American magazines.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Picador
Language: English
ISBN: 9780312427900

Keep your books and notes in Collected for iPhone.

Apple Books is a service mark of Apple Inc. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.