[Wikipedia] June 15: The World Without Us

   The World Without Us is a non-fiction book about what would happen to
   the natural and built environment if humans suddenly disappeared,
   written by American journalist Alan Weisman and published by St.
   Martin's Thomas Dunne Books.  It is a book-length expansion of
   Weisman's own February 2005 Discover article "Earth Without People".
   Written largely as a thought experiment, it outlines, for example, how
   cities and houses would deteriorate, how long man-made artifacts would
   last, and how remaining lifeforms would evolve.  Weisman concludes that
   residential neighborhoods would become forests within 500 years, and
   that radioactive waste, bronze statues, plastics, and Mount Rushmore
   will be among the longest lasting evidence of human presence on Earth.
   The author of four previous books and numerous articles for magazines,
   Weisman traveled around the world to interview academics, scientists
   and other authorities.  He used quotes from these interviews to explain
   the effects of the natural environment and to substantiate
   predictions.  The book has been translated and published in France,
   Germany, Portugal and Spain.  It was successful in the U.S., reaching
   #6 on the New York Times Best Seller list.  It ranked #1 on Time and
   Entertainment Weekly's top 10 non-fiction books of 2007.
   The book has received largely positive reviews, specifically for
   Weisman's journalistic and scientific writing style, but some have
   questioned the relevance of its subject matter.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Without_Us

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