The notion of looking at what would happe to the world if human beings were to disappear from the face of the earth is brilliant. It allows Weisman to take an objective look at the current state of human impact on the world, without slipping into the preachy, doom and gloom style that is often used by authors of such books.

The breadth of the topics Weisman covers is impressive. I felt that I learned something new in every chapter, whether it was about the existence of centuries-old cities hidden beneath Turkey, the birdlife of the DMZ in Korea or the wholesale destruction of mountaintops in West Virginia.

Weisman is also an extraordinary writer. There are a number of verbal gems here, such as the following sentence, which perfectly describes at least one of my cats: "The villain is the purring mascot that lolled regally in Egyptian temples and does the same on our furniture, accepting our affection only when it pleases, exuding inscrutable calm whether awake or asleep (as it spends more than half its life), beguiling us to see to its care and feeding."

What truly saves this book from being the usual depressive environmental tome predicting our imminent destruction is the people. Weisman must have interviewed well over 100 people. He does not simply explain their reseach, their ideas and their opinion clearly. He brings them to life. It is their passion, brilliance and commitment that makes the book truly worth reading.