The World Without Us

    By Alan Weisman.

Format.
    Audiobook read by Adam Grupper.

The Book in One Sentence.
    What would happen to the planet and the structures we have built upon it, if we the Earth's human inhabitants were to disappear?

The Good.
    It was very interesting to learn about the kind of maintenance that goes into 'civilisation'.  Weisman, doesn't just stick to the states, but takes in the wider world as well.  
    The book takes in a wide range of phenomenon.  Not only discussing what would happen if we should disappear, but also taking in the range of plant wide changes, our past and continued presence has and will cause.

The Bad.
    This is not a particularly cheerful book.  It is not meant to be.  You've been warned.

Who would I recommend it to?
    Those interested in doomsday books, in learning more about our impact on the world around us and/or curious about how our city infrastructure is maintained.

A Quote from the Book.
    "In 2000, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service reported that 77,000 towers were higher than 199 feet, which meant that they were required to have warning lights for aircraft.  If calculations were correct, that meant that nearly 200 million birds collided fatally with towers each year in the United States alone.   In fact, those figures had already been usurped, because cell phone towers were being erected so fast.  By 2005, there were 175,000 of those.  Their addition. would raise the annual toll to half a billion dead birds --except that this number was still based on scant data and on guesses, because scavengers get to most feathered victims before they're found."

Verdict.
    A good read.  Weisman took many environmental studies and interviews, and crafted them into a very readable and entertaining story.