“The basis for this book (that is really more like a collection of essays) is the completely unrealistic premise that all the people on Earth just up and disappeared in a moment. He puts this as either the Rapture or an mass alien abduction. Regardless of the likelihood of that, he then collects facts and expert opinions on a shockingly wide variety of topics and clearly but emotionally, simply but completely describes what would happen to the world without us regarding that topic. As examples, one chapter is the description of recent housing construction practices in America and the timetable of how a house would be reclaimed by nature, through water, insects, rodents and plants. The next chapter deals with New York City specifically, focusing on the subways and sewers with interviews with current workers and engineers all whom agree NYC will flood and collapse in short order. Oh, and artists and geologists agree the Statue of Liberty will keep her form underwater because of the inert nature of bronze.
There isn’t much connection between chapters. The simple physical destruction of buildings doesn’t factor in the chapter on radioactivity and the possibility of mass species mutation when the reactors and warheads all leak out into the surrounding environment and that doesn’t factor into the chapter on plastics in our oceans and what the historic makeup of a coral reef is and how long it would take to restore them and none of that is discussed with the religious and environmental groups who want to limit the human population in various ways. Each little section is really engaging and intriguing, well thought out and full of interesting facts, but I’m not sure the author even tried to bring it all together. I’m not sure it’s even possible, he presented so much information. By the third chapter I knew I should consider this a collection of articles (he is a journalist) and was able to enjoy the whole book. I recommend it for those interested in a wide variety of scientific disciplines (anthropology, biology, geology, physics…) but no intimate knowledge is required.”
anarresa wrote this review Monday, July 4, 2011.
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