The World Without Us - Alan Weisman

What if - tomorrow or next week - all the humans on Earth suddenly left? They didn't die in a mass disaster (so no bodies or fallout to take into account) but all of a sudden there were simply no humans anywhere on the planet. What would happen to the buildings left behind? The rubbish and pollution? Plants and animals? Earth itself. The answers are very humbling. As you would probably guess, the majority of the inhabitants of Earth don't need us and would get on a lot better without us. What amazed me was how quickly we would be forgotten. Our cities, bridges and tarmac roads won't last long without human maintenance. A bit of frost and a few weed seeds will ...  Read the complete review

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman is a book about how the world would change if humans suddenly vanished tomorrow. It's a fascinating look at how nature would eventually end up reclaiming the world. He uses real examples like parts of Cyprus which have been abandoned due to the Turk/Cypriot conflict. He explains what happens to buildings and how they start to decay and crumble without human intervention. How the tube systems around the world would flood and how animals and nature would reclaim the land. The book is 280 pages, 19 chapters long. It is written in a story telling style, easy to understand- no technical jargon, and humorous at ...  Read the complete review