About the Book
What would happen if humans disappeared from Earth today? How long would our homes last and what would happen to our pets? How long would our artworks and monuments last? Alan Weisman explores how humans have changed the world and how long it would take for it to go back to its original state. More information about the book is available at www.worldwithoutus.com
Meet the Author
Journalist Alan Weisman is an award-winning writer whose credits include the New York Times Magazine, Discover, and National Public Radio. He teaches international journalism at the University of Arizona. Alan was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1947 to Simon (a lawyer) and Charlotte (a housewife). He received a B.A. and a M.S.J. from Northwestern University. The Word Without Us is an expansion of his essay “Earth Without People” published in Discover Magazine which won the Best American Science Writing award for 2006. In 2007 The World Without Us was on many best books lists for the year including the distinction of being Time Magazine’s number one nonfiction title.
Articles and Reviews
All articles cited are available in full-text magazines at http://www.siouxlandlib.org/. Select Databases, click login, type in your bar code and PIN, and click login. Choose ProQuest, InfoTrac Professional Collection, or Biography Resource Center.
• Flatow, Ira. “Imagining a World Without Humans.” Talk of the Nation/Science Friday (National Public Radio). Nov 23, 2007.
• Chauncey, Mabe. “South Florida Sun-Sentinel Book Editor column: Professor sees a world without man.” Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL). Aug 5, 2007.
• Schuessler, Jennifer. “Starting Over.” New York Times Book Review. Sep 2, 2007. p. 12.
• “The Lonely Planet.” Library Journal. May 15, 2007. Vol. 132, Iss. 9; p. 112.
• Schulte, Bret. “In Praise of Mother Nature.” U.S. News & World Report. Jul 23, 2007. Vol. 143, Iss. 3; p. 20.
• Alan Weisman. Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008.
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss how Poland’s Bialowieza Puszcza remains untouched by humans, especially considering its location.
2. Our homes reflect our time. How rapidly do you thing your house would deteriorate?
3. Extinction is an integral part of our world. Large land mammals have struggled when man enters the picture. North America was full of large land mammals at one time. Discuss how large African animals have, for the most part, escaped this outcome.
4. Plastics are a part of everyday life now. How has the world changed in the last 75 years? What part do plastics play in that change?
5. Chemical use is a common occurrence. Discuss the effects this has had on our food, on possible recovery of the land.
6. According to researchers, the Amazon rain forest was once cultivated. Discuss how the jungle reasserted itself once most of the humans were gone.
7. The Panama Canal is one of humankind’s greatest achievements. How would nature retake this world wonder? Discuss the ancient world wonders mentioned in the book.
8. Humans depend on fossil fuels everyday. Without humans, what would happen to the structures we have built to contain and move our supply?
9. Without the Cold War in Korea the peninsula would look much different. Unplanned wildlife refuges became an unexpected happy outcome. Discuss other world events that have caused nature to thrive (Chernobyl, Johnston Atoll).
10. What could man do to reverse some of the damage done?
(Questions by Jane Taylor)
