THE WORLD WITHOUT US
Alan Weisman
Picador
Science
Hardcover: 0312347294
Paperback: 9780312427900

A question: Will the final version of THE WORLD WITHOUT US be published on acid-free paper? How long would such a book last? After all, if author Alan Weisman's conjecture comes to pass, no one will be around to read it.

I never really stopped to think about the scenario the promotional material that accompanied the galleys posed. But now I have, and it's more than a little depressing.

Weisman surmises what would happen to the earth after a few days, a few years, a few centuries. His conclusion? Everything old is anew again, as buildings crumble and all current life forms die off, replaced by new ones.

Weisman's career as a writer suggests no special expertise in this area, but through exhaustive research on myriad topics --- including the passing of previous civilizations that expected to be around forever --- he presents a picture that heretofore was only conceivable through science fiction. In his "world to come," with no one around to supervise, as it were, the world will literally fall apart, according to his precise timeline.

Weisman's description of buildings crumbling slowly and the subsequent incursion of vegetation are at once beautiful and disturbing. It is reminiscent of the final scene in A.I., in which Haley Joel Osment, as the android child who has survived long after mankind has vanished, is "rescued" by aliens who allow him, through DNA machinations, to revive his ersatz mother for 24 hours.

So what would such future visitors to earth find (and they better hurry, since the Earth only has another five billion years)? According to Weisman, it's plastic (and perhaps aluminum kitchenware), which will be blowing in the wind after other forms of refuse --- including radioactive materials --- have long since degraded.

Underground cities could also serve as one of the few reminders that civilization once existed on this planet, assuming that life in other galactic areas actually exist. Of course, if it doesn't, no one will ever know we existed at all. Cheery.

To paraphrase that great philosopher, Woody Allen: humankind may not be afraid of death; they just don't want to be around when it happens.

On the other hand, as disturbing as it might be to realize how it was painted, the picture is one of potential peace and beauty.

There are several questions about Weisman's theories. For example, what force could account for the destruction of humanoid life but allow other mammals to survive? I'm not a scientist, but I find that difficult to buy.

For all of Weisman's hard work, it sometimes seems that there is too much detail, as if all the background, expert interviews and lush descriptions of a terminal planet could soften the blow of our impending doom.

     --- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan

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