A little light doomsday reading

I know that some (perhaps most) of you are curled up this morning in your PJs, munching on bagels and grazing lazily through the thick Sunday paper while your coffee slowly cools (I miss those days!).  So, I'm guessing that you're probably not going to be that receptive to suggestions of additional reading material. 

But just the same, I recently finished a couple of incredible books - one old, and one new - that should not be missed... so if you really aren't in the market for books, this is your chance to bail out.

Oddly, these two books share an odd theme that I hadn't noticed while they were sitting on my nightstand waiting to be read; they both deal with the extinction of the human race.

First up is an oldie but a goody; 'On the Beach' by Nevil Shute.

This book was written in the late 1950s (and set in the early 1960s), so there are more than a few details in the book that are correct for the period, but will probably tug anachronistically at the corner of the modern reader's attention here and there.  But this is a tiny price to pay for what will certainly be a watershed in your reading life.

'On the Beach' is without a doubt the most disturbing book I have ever read. Full stop.  A treppenwitz reader mentioned it to me as a book that had forced him to re-evaluate some of his priorities in life.  That sounded like a crashing bore to me, but then I started seeing cultural references to the book here and there... so I decided to have a go. 

Without providing any spoilers, this story - set mostly in Melbourne Australia and its environs - is about how survivors of a nuclear war come to the stark realization that the advancing fallout from the destroyed northern hemisphere is creeping inexorably towards them in the last bastion of life on earth. 

Stop.  Do not click away!  This is not really science fiction as you've probably imagined it... or even a little bit geeky.  It is a at once heartwarming and horrifying.  I had bad dreams the night I finished it, and have not been able to get it out of my head since.

Bottom line:  You will not be the same person after reading this book.  Plenty of used copies floating around, and it is still in print for those of you who want to plunk down the whole $6.99 for the paperback.  I found mine on Abebooks - the official bookseller of treppenwitz - for $1!

***********************************

The second book I'd like to recommend also has a doomsday theme, and yet manages to lay reasonable claim to a spot on the non-fiction shelf: 'The World Without Us' by Alan Weisman.

I first heard about this book before it was published this past summer and managed to get my sweaty little hands on an advance reader's copy (thanks again to abebooks.com) just as the NY Times was starting to sing its praises.

'The world without us' is an incredible thought experiment that takes a scholarly look at what would become of the planet if a virus (or some sort of 'rapture'-like event) were to suddenly pluck the entire human race from the world.

I remember being bothered for months after reading Steven King's 'The Stand', a story about a 'superflu' wiping out 99.9% of humans.  It took me that long to realize that King's brief descriptions of how quickly nature would effortlessly reclaim all of our cities and infrastructure was just a tease, and I felt vaguely cheated that he hadn't devoted more ink to that fascinating topic. 'The world without us'  is the answer to my long-ago prayers. 

The author consulted with architects, engineers and scientists in a wide array of relevant disciplines to find out how the world would make short work of pretty much everything we've every created (except perhaps plastic). 

In addition to dozens of scenarios that could play out, we are also treated to some that have already done so.  Places like the DMZ between the two Koreas and the area surrounding Chernobyl are but two of the many examples given of areas that, given the opportunity, nature has quickly taken back.

We are also told some scary truths about places we know intimately.  For example, he reveals that most the streams and rivers that existed in Manhattan before humans settled that expensive bit of real estate are still there under the thin crust of civilization we've created.  The author reveals that there is a small army of electrical pumps that work around the clock to stay ahead of these bodies of water conspiring to flood New York's vaunted subway tunnels.  I was shocked to learn (from the people who maintain these pumps, no less!) that within a couple of days of the electricity going out, the entire network of subway tunnels would be flooded to the roof!  Think about that the next time you are waiting for the A train at 59th Street.

Being non-fiction, you may find the lack of a plot/story line a tad disconcerting as the author takes you on a whirlwind tour of every Continent and explains (with the help of his expert advisory sources) what could happen... what is happening as we speak... and what has already happened (for good and for bad).  I found this to be a plus as I kept this book in my backpack for odd moments when I'd have some time to read without having to re-establish contextual continuity.

While not nearly as disturbing as 'On the Beach', 'The world without us' lingered at the back of my mind for weeks after I finished it.  It has changed the way I look at the world (and how I see my place in it), and will certainly remain a well-thumbed reference manual in years to come as some of the predictions found in the book are put to the test of time.

You can find it here, or also at abebooks.com... but whatever you do, find it!  Trust me when I tell you that you will be missing something special if you let this one go by unread.

Note from the management:  I do not accept compensation for reviewing or recommending books (which is one of the reasons I rarely do it).  I often receive review copies of new books from authors and publishers.  They send these to many bloggers in hopes we'll read them and like them enough to write something nice on our sites.  To date, none of the books I've acquired this way have been good enough to make me want to share them with you... and life's too short to waste time/space on a hatchet job. 

I did just receive a promising book from a publisher - an eyewitness account/analysis of the Black September (1970) hijackings, not surprisingly titled 'Terror in Black September' .  If I like it, I'll let you know.