Posted by Carlos on May 27, 1998 at 10:45:35:
rpcman said (a while ago):
Have you read Earth Abides Carlos? If not, I think you will like it.
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I read it over the weekend. For those who aren't familiar with the work, it was written in the 40's by one George Stewart. The premise is that a plague (a form of measles) has killed off most of humanity (well over 99%). The first part of the book chronicles the efforts of the protaganist (a man known as Ish) to locate some surviving cluster of civilization. From his home in San Franciso, he travels across the country and finds isolated survivors, but no large group of people, and finally returns to S.F.
Ish ultimately finds a woman and then a few other survivors. They form a small community, begin to have children and by the end of the book number about 100 people.
I have read many post-apocalyptic sci-fi books (mostly about civilization after a nuclear war), but they usually degenerate into "Max Max" plots. Earth Abides was different, and much better. The author has interludes where he talks about the effect of humanity's demise on other animals, buildings, crops, etc. Very interesting, very plausible.
I like books that make me think. Here we are in an advanced industrial society, and I am a highly educated member of that society. But, if the infrastructure of experts in all the disparate disciplines needed to keep society functioning were to disappear, could I cope? Given raw materials, could I reconstruct metallurgy? With enough books, could I develop vaccines? With the right equipment, could I grind lenses? I'm very much afraid the answer would be no, just as it is in the book. After decades of scavanging, the remaining people revert to more primitive tools (bow and arrow), and most of the learning of the past is lost.
It certainly gave me occasion to reflect on how ignorant I really am despite those college degrees. I recommend the book highly - thanks for the tip rpcman.