Earth Abides: A Novel

“Men go and come, but earth abides.”

For a story that was first published in 1949, Earth Abides remains relevant now more than ever. Mass plague vectored through air travel has been featured in a number of recent films (i.e. Contagion, Outbreak), TV shows, and yes, even the news. Set between the European Black Death of the late 1600s and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s Earth Abides explores the waning hopes, hardships, and resignation of plague survivors of present-day California.

With only a tiny fraction of the world's population persisting after a catastrophic event in civilization, how would you fare? What wisdom would you pass on to those younger than you?

In George R. Stewart's post-holocaust novel, protagonist Isherwood “Ish” Williams, discovers that a virulent plague has wiped out nearly all of humanity, leaving only a handful of shell-shocked survivors in its wake. Armed with little more than a hammer and his philosophical prowess, Ish attempts to reestablish American civilization in a small suburban community overlooking San Francisco Bay. While the rest of the survivors live day-to-day and subsist on vast stockpiles of canned food, Ish strives to retain the knowledge of the past, preserving libraries, teaching his offspring—including his gifted son, Joey—all the facts and achievements of his bygone civilization. In time, Ish becomes an almost God-like figure, the "Last American" in the eyes of the younger generations, his old hammer being the symbol of his power. Uncomfortable with his deification and his near absolute authority over the tribe, Ish realizes that the people have become far too complacent and dependent upon him. When new threats emerge and the crumbling infrastructure no longer supports his community, Ish must abandon his dreams of resurrecting society and teach his people the most basic and practical skills of survival.

Ish is a very cerebral and introverted fellow—a walking Farmer’s Almanac, if you will. At times, readers may be frustrated by his constant brooding and pale, clinical views. Many may be turned off by his questioning of a mentally challenged girl’s right to reproduce. Conversely, Ish becomes a more interesting character near the novel's end whilst standing in stark contrast to his descendents, a simple hunting and gathering tribe. Primitive-like children with no concept of technology, history, literature, medicine, and all other forms of knowledge, obeying the rudimentary laws of nature; and although they’re aware that they’re living amidst the ruins of a dead civilization, they can only perceive the makers of that collapsed society as the mythical beings.

Earth Abides isn't without its shortcomings. There's not much in the way of dialogue or character development; the pacing is dawdling and sensationalist action is nowhere to be found. To its credit, the novel is a thoughtful tale of a devastated culture struggling to survive. Plodding albeit wonderfully written, Earth Abides is brilliant and thought-provoking in regards to its sober examination of not only human integrity but also the questions of what makes a civilization work, and how to reestablish one from the ruins. Readers looking for escapist literature will see this book as hard reading, but others will hopefully appreciate the book’s philosophical insight and poignant message about the human condition that remains true today.

“Men go and come, but earth abides.”

For a story that was first published in 1949, Earth Abides remains relevant now more than ever. Mass plague vectored through air travel has been featured in a number of recent films (i.e. Contagion, Outbreak), TV shows, and yes, even the news. Set between the European Black Death of the late 1600s and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s Earth Abides explores the waning hopes, hardships, and resignation of plague survivors of present-day California.

With only a tiny fraction of the world's population persisting after a catastrophic event in civilization, how would you fare? What wisdom would you pass on to those younger than you?

In George R. Stewart's post-holocaust novel, protagonist Isherwood “Ish” Williams, discovers that a virulent plague has wiped out nearly all of humanity, leaving only a handful of shell-shocked survivors in its wake. Armed with little more than a hammer and his philosophical prowess, Ish attempts to reestablish American civilization in a small suburban community overlooking San Francisco Bay. While the rest of the survivors live day-to-day and subsist on vast stockpiles of canned food, Ish strives to retain the knowledge of the past, preserving libraries, teaching his offspring—including his gifted son, Joey—all the facts and achievements of his bygone civilization. In time, Ish becomes an almost God-like figure, the "Last American" in the eyes of the younger generations, his old hammer being the symbol of his power. Uncomfortable with his deification and his near absolute authority over the tribe, Ish realizes that the people have become far too complacent and dependent upon him. When new threats emerge and the crumbling infrastructure no longer supports his community, Ish must abandon his dreams of resurrecting society and teach his people the most basic and practical skills of survival.

Ish is a very cerebral and introverted fellow—a walking Farmer’s Almanac, if you will. At times, readers may be frustrated by his constant brooding and pale, clinical views. Many may be turned off by his questioning of a mentally challenged girl’s right to reproduce. Conversely, Ish becomes a more interesting character near the novel's end whilst standing in stark contrast to his descendents, a simple hunting and gathering tribe. Primitive-like children with no concept of technology, history, literature, medicine, and all other forms of knowledge, obeying the rudimentary laws of nature; and although they’re aware that they’re living amidst the ruins of a dead civilization, they can only perceive the makers of that collapsed society as the mythical beings.

Earth Abides isn't without its shortcomings. There's not much in the way of dialogue or character development; the pacing is dawdling and sensationalist action is nowhere to be found. To its credit, the novel is a thoughtful tale of a devastated culture struggling to survive. Plodding albeit wonderfully written, Earth Abides is brilliant and thought-provoking in regards to its sober examination of not only human integrity but also the questions of what makes a civilization work, and how to reestablish one from the ruins. Readers looking for escapist literature will see this book as hard reading, but others will hopefully appreciate the book’s philosophical insight and poignant message about the human condition that remains true today.

“Men go and come, but earth abides.”

For a story that was first published in 1949, Earth Abides remains relevant now more than ever. Mass plague vectored through air travel has been featured in a number of recent films (i.e. Contagion, Outbreak), TV shows, and yes, even the news. Set between the European Black Death of the late 1600s and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s Earth Abides explores the waning hopes, hardships, and resignation of plague survivors of present-day California.

With only a tiny fraction of the world's population persisting after a catastrophic event in civilization, how would you fare? What wisdom would you pass on to those younger than you?

In George R. Stewart's post-holocaust novel, protagonist Isherwood “Ish” Williams, discovers that a virulent plague has wiped out nearly all of humanity, leaving only a handful of shell-shocked survivors in its wake. Armed with little more than a hammer and his philosophical prowess, Ish attempts to reestablish American civilization in a small suburban community overlooking San Francisco Bay. While the rest of the survivors live day-to-day and subsist on vast stockpiles of canned food, Ish strives to retain the knowledge of the past, preserving libraries, teaching his offspring—including his gifted son, Joey—all the facts and achievements of his bygone civilization. In time, Ish becomes an almost God-like figure, the "Last American" in the eyes of the younger generations, his old hammer being the symbol of his power. Uncomfortable with his deification and his near absolute authority over the tribe, Ish realizes that the people have become far too complacent and dependent upon him. When new threats emerge and the crumbling infrastructure no longer supports his community, Ish must abandon his dreams of resurrecting society and teach his people the most basic and practical skills of survival.

Ish is a very cerebral and introverted fellow—a walking Farmer’s Almanac, if you will. At times, readers may be frustrated by his constant brooding and pale, clinical views. Many may be turned off by his questioning of a mentally challenged girl’s right to reproduce. Conversely, Ish becomes a more interesting character near the novel's end whilst standing in stark contrast to his descendents, a simple hunting and gathering tribe. Primitive-like children with no concept of technology, history, literature, medicine, and all other forms of knowledge, obeying the rudimentary laws of nature; and although they’re aware that they’re living amidst the ruins of a dead civilization, they can only perceive the makers of that collapsed society as the mythical beings.

Earth Abides isn't without its shortcomings. There's not much in the way of dialogue or character development; the pacing is dawdling and sensationalist action is nowhere to be found. To its credit, the novel is a thoughtful tale of a devastated culture struggling to survive. Plodding albeit wonderfully written, Earth Abides is brilliant and thought-provoking in regards to its sober examination of not only human integrity but also the questions of what makes a civilization work, and how to reestablish one from the ruins. Readers looking for escapist literature will see this book as hard reading, but others will hopefully appreciate the book’s philosophical insight and poignant message about the human condition that remains true today.

Not really SiFi. Fiction and Apocalyptic yes, but after a very few chapters to grab your interest, author drifts off into non-related daydreaming, repetition and his personal philosophy on various character's lives. I'm betting that he was a self proclaimed authority and certainly a pipe smoker.
No science, little innovation, but it goes on and on. You keep hoping it will get better, but unfortunately, it doesn't. How it won any award remains a mystery to me. If you are looking for an exciting science fiction work, sorry, but this isn't it.

I love to read, so there are very few books I don't finish. I usually slog through even the bad ones. Here's my take on this book. I was looking for a novel about how people came up with creative ideas about how to survive in a world after civilization is wiped out. This book dealt with that facet somewhat in the first hundred pages. After that most of the book deals with moral issues. "What are the moral or ethical responsibilities of survivors" is the main theme of the rest of the book. After an ok start, the whole rest of the book seemed preachy and a little like the author was trying to coerce me into agreeing with his point of view. Three-quarters of the way through the book I quit reading, because there were no characters I was interested in enough to care what happened to them.

This is one of the great books of the 20th Century. Unfortunately, a poor job was done producing it for Kindle. It seems to me that the print edition was scanned using Optical Character Recognition software and not proofed. It is full of misspellings and incorrect words due to the software limitations. If the store expects us to pay for this, they should make some effort to be sure that their product is correct!

Despite its outdated and stilted prose and often languorous pace, this post-apocalyptic novel (written in 1949) continues to offer a fresh perspective on life in a world ripped asunder by a swiftly acting yet unidentified disease of epic proportions. What differentiates this from most other such novels is the author's emphasis, especially in the first portion of the book, on the reason for the calamity. What prompted the outbreak in the first place? The author offers a scientific explanation, drawing analogies to other species that become vulnerable to diseases after reaching a stressful climax state caused by multiple factors such as lack of land, food, or too much tv. A few survivors remain to rebuild. With examples given, this all sounds very plausible.

The protagonist, Ish, short for Isherwood, narrates the story in the third person, and through his eyes we see up close the aftermath of the calamity as he wanders around the country and searches for someone of suitable stature to link up with. He initially finds a dog (or more accurately the dog finds him), and that companionship spurs him on to eventually find his human soul mate. Are these two the Adam and Eve of the new world.

Another significant difference is that the survivors, and of course there are survivors, have no desire to rebuild or create a more formal replacement structure. Ish is frustrated in his attempts to instill some traditional values and incentives. HIs tribe of survivors, and increasingly their offspring, are content to live in a state of innocent ignorance, scavenging for the still abundant supplies and with no thought for the future. The original slackers. Is this because they're living in Berkeley, California?

How will they fare when all the expired can goods are finally eaten? The book answers this question on a somewhat optimistic note, but don't expect a flourishing of Renaissance ideals.

Yes, the earth does truly abide. It may take awhile, but its permanence will prevail despite our best efforts to control and alter its inherent nature.

Let's get one thing out of the way. This story was originally written in 1949, which means that it is a product of its time. This is something I believe anyone that wants to read Earth Abides must take into account.

That said...

There was some questionable science, some of which I'd consider pretty basic, that was presented in various parts of the book which was clearly inaccurate (ex: food barely spoils despite long periods of time being outside of refrigeration; cars seemingly still work after years of being abandoned). In addition, I wasn't the biggest fan of the author's position on the short- and long-term behavior of the characters post-disaster. How would people generally react to an apocalyptic scenario where large numbers of people died but the tools of civilization remained largely intact? In a book written in 1949, the answer seemed less of a study in post-apocalyptic societal evolution and more of an author imposing his own preferred world status upon the reader: People, in the destruction of civilization, want to revert to a primitive state of existence. Our main character, Ish, encounters characters throughout the book that all, to various degrees, don't really care that the world collapsed and would rather not bother learning the skills needed to even try and preserve their previous ways of life.

I could take this a step further and say that the book is anti-education due to how apathetic many of the characters are regarding their situation which, to me, just seems terribly unrealistic no matter how you slice it.

Given that our MC is an intellectual and genuinely cares about preserving our world - and is distraught at seeing everything fall apart over time - it's easy for the reader to attach to him and his ideals, especially when you compare him to his compatriots.

I will acknowledge that, for its time, Earth Abides was a ground-breaking achievement in the world of early science fiction - for that, I'll give it the kudos it deserves. If you decide to read this novel, treat the experience as if you were diving through a window into the past. I'm glad this was written, but there are many other classic post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels written since that have aged far better.

The plot is like many others in that a mysterious disease kills off a big portion of the population but a few survive to rebuild society. I thought I would really enjoy this book. I really wanted to like this book. I didn't hate it but I didn't like it either. Come to think of it that's really the point of the book. Okay, what would you do if you came back from a trip in the woods to find every town you pass through empty of people? What would you do? Hell, I can think of a few things! Particularly some things that make a really loud BANG! What does the protagonist, Isherwood Williams, do? Nothing!

Now when Cyrus Harding and his cohorts landed on The Mysterious Island (Jules Verne, 1874) and when Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe, 1719) fetched up on his uninhabited island they set about making themselves comfortable in their new unfettered world. But, what did Ish do? He went home. Then he went for a little sight-seeing drive. He thought about doing a lot of things to thwart potential disasters he knew would hurt his growing community sooner or later. Instead of showing the industrious energy of Harding and Crusoe, he was content to put off all such preparations for an ambiguous 'later' and spent his time scavenging the ruins of a lost civilisation to barely maintain some low level of status quo.

This is what drove me crazy about this book and it is probably the point Stewart was trying to make. Even though Ish can see what needs to be done he's stuck living in the day-to-day. And, what happens when things go wrong? The community adapts. Just like nature adapts when humans are suddenly removed as a major shaping force. Ish's offspring also adapt when all the old technologies are finally decayed and useless. Whatever. I'd rather put some effort into making tomorrow a little better than today.

I don't read much science fiction but both my sister and a library friend recommended it. Wow! Not what I was expecting. It was written in 1949 the year I was born and was awarded the first International Fantasy Award. Imagine that most of Earth's population has been wiped out by an unknown virus. The main character, Isherwood "Ish" Williams, is one of the survivors and his emotional and physical journey is full of hope for himself a small group of men and women.

It took me a short while to get used to the author's style of writing and the voice that he gave to Ish. There isn't much action in this novel but I was completely immersed in the story. Not only are we witness to how humanity reacts to this tragic event but we also see how Earth is changed with so few humans left. I had a feeling of almost claustrophobia during parts of the story. This definitely gave me much to think about in relation to our world today.

Earth Abides, I felt, was the primer upon which almost all dystopian novels were, or at least, should be based. George Stewart elegantly weaves a tale to show how one catastrophic event could take a civilization from being technologically advanced to primitive hunters and gathers within a single generation. At no point in this novel did I feel that the author was drawing an outrageous conclusion or extending the story beyond a reasonable string of events. I finished the book with the uneasy feeling that life as we know it is balancing on a very fine thread.

If a plague ever swept the world killing off almost all humans, how would the planet itself react? Earth has been dominated by humans for thousands of years so what would the sudden removal of them mean?

This is one focus of George R Stewart's Earth Abides. It's a post-apocalyptic novel, sure, but rather than focusing entirely on the surviving people as most post-apocalyptic writers do, Stewart also studies nature itself: plants, animals, even weather patterns. It's a rather unique approach I think, at least one that I haven't come across before.

Our main character, Isherwood "Ish" Williams, a geologist, was in the mountains above California when the plague swept the world. George R Stewart doesn't come right out and say it, but he insinuates that Ish may have contracted the virus even up in the mountains, but a fortuitous snakebite saved his life. Apparently the snake venom, not quite potent enough to kill the man, was at least strong enough to kill the virus within him. I found that to be an interesting, albeit unlikely, idea. But let's not over-analyze shall we? This isn't the point of the story anyway.

When Ish finally comes down from the mountains weeks later, he finds humanity all but gone. He gets the gist of what happened by reading some of the last newspapers that were published. Being something of a loner, Ish is not overly bothered by the sudden lack of people in the world, and being a scientist he realizes that he has a unique opportunity to study a post-man world. So Ish does some traveling, taking special note of how things are already beginning to change, both in the environment and in the few people he encounters.

After a while, Ish meets a woman and they settle down to begin a family. Two other couples join them and began raising children also. Earth Abides takes us through the remainder of Ish's life and the difficulties he encounters while trying to restart the human race.

Earth Abides is probably one of the most thoughtful post-apocalyptic novels I have read. George R Stewart doesn't seem to miss a trick and explored every possible scenario that might arise after the top of the food chain is gone: plagues of ants, then of rats, dogs going wild, cattle populations rising unchecked. He explored the apathy of the surviving humans who no longer need to work for anything. All they have to do is go and pick up whatever they need. Stewart also cogitates over the raising of children in a world where formal education seems unnecessary. This is one book that really makes you think.

One of my favorite ideas that Stewart forwards was how at the end of each year, according to their own calendar that the colony created themselves, the entire group gathers together to name that year. Anyone can propose a name based on the significant events of that year and then they vote. During one year they narrowly avoided being destroyed by unchecked forest fires and so that was the Year of Fire. In another year some twins were born so that was the Year of the Twins. And so on and so on. This was a neat idea that really captured my imagination. I wonder what names we would choose if we practiced this.

Narrator Jonathan Davis handled this lengthy novel very capably. He has a very natural reading style and reads both prose and dialogue very well. Davis has narrated more than 150 audiobooks, most of them in the science fiction genre including 30 Star Wars titles.

Earth Abides was originally written in 1949. It won the 1951 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and was listed as one of the All-Time Best Science Fiction Novels by Locus Magazine. It was also one of the primary inspirations for Stephen King's novel The Stand.

This book is indeed a great classic. I enjoyed reading Earth Abides and grew very attatched to Ish and his journey of life. Earth Abides follows the life journey of a man named which begings with a mysterious plague wipes out most of the population. Ish, being immune, is left in very lonely world. He however does not seem to mind and wishes to see how the Earth will change without man's influence. The novel spans over decades and follows how Ish's life changes. Some of the topics refered to in this novel are a little out dated but I believe they add to the character the novel. The following I would consider spoilers so if you do not which to spoil your reading experience do no read anymore of this review.

I liked how the storyline spanned over many decades but I found a few things quite implausible. Such things included having running water for 21 years and being able to find enough canned/preserved food that was not expired for years on end. It was however interesting to read about the children and grandchildren's ignorance of the past, that they did not need to know and did not want to know how things of the past were.

Overall I found Earth Abides a good read and would recommend this novel to anyone who loves apocalyptic scifi and a classic read.

The other five-star reviews I read are not hyperbole. I read it as a youth about 60 years ago, and have re-read it several times over the decades. II got something new out of it on each reading. The plot is very well done and serves as backdrop for some intriguing philosophical questions and ethical choices. I identified with 'Ish" as a teen; at 72 I guess I still do. "Earth Abides" is a completely different work than, say, Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" or Stegner's "Angle of Repose" (also books I would have to take to a desert island). On a deeper level, all three classics are adventures in the world of ideas. I'd highly recommend it as a timeless and memorable read for for teens or the intellectually curious of any age.

I plan to re-visit Earth Abides soon. Books like this help keep our batteries fully charged.

Having read a number of "survivalist" books in the last couple of years, I can't help comparing their protagonists with those in Earth Abides, who are content be lazy, dull, inactive, "come what may" types, painfully passive in their (non)attempts to make build new lives.

The libraries are full of how-to books and these people are living on canned goods and attempting to re-populate the world. Where is their desire to seek out ways to bring back some level of "civilization." What about pro-active gardening, animal husbandry, getting back o the basics (raise the sheep, build the looms, cord the wool, and make yourself clothing); how to refine fuel, create electricity, and build up a thriving living environment.

Sorry - need my characters to be more proactive, working to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Another reviewer said it for me: “I’d do my damnedest to rebuild and make use of the remaining human world around me.”

If you wish to read good post apocalyptic/survivalist books: One Second After, Patriots, A World Made by Hand.

This is only 1-1/2 stars at best; didn't "hate" the book but thought it unbelievably unbelievable.

Written in 1949, and portraying a post-apocalyptic United States that has very few remaining people, this is a book in two quite separate halves. At its heart, the first half deals with the manner in which nature reasserts itself after humanity’s collapse. The second half deals with the subsequent decay in society, and the loss of civilization. It is highly original and beautiful book; poignant, moving, humorous, thought-provoking and very philosophical. Overall, a remarkable work.

I first read this when I was in my early teens (my Mom had a hardback copy). I was fascinated then, and have reread it at least twice. Modern teens and young adults will probably find it hard to accept in this day of Internet and cell phones, but it was vety believable in the 1960s. I think it's a good addition to the reading list for anyone interested in apocalyptic fiction. I also recommend "The Canticle of Liebowitz" and "On the Beach."

I read this book many years ago in its original paperback form and was mesmerized. It set me off on a lifetime love of apocalyptic novels. The book makes you think about so many things that had never entered my mind. No one around to repair the roads, tires on cars rotting after so many years of disuse, the over population of certain animal species and extinction of others who were affected by the virus, the rusting of guns and inability to find ammunition. This was one of my favorite books of all time and I wish it had made the list of 100 favorite books.

Written a while ago, when technology wasn't so prevalent... this book still stands up as a good representation of a group of people who over the years.... after a global catastrophe... gain... and then mostly lose the knowledge that they have at that point in time. And really... what is the loss? Is our current life so awesome and loving that it should be saved. In this book, the basics of life are still there. Love, loss, family, community, fear, change, knowledge, hope, ... The future is not guaranteed. In any way. It would be sad for humanity to lose the knowledge and wisdom we have gained over the years. Because of some random tragedy that overtakes our planet.

My hobby is reading . I enjoy reading stories. all kinds of stories by bestselling authors or never heard of authors. always looking for a good story. In my search I have read some great stories, some not so great and just plain awful. but only three times have I ever disliked a story where I could not finish it. This story was so bad not only could I not finish it I would like a refund. the story line could of been interesting. The writing was horrible. I hope it is a long time before I come across a book this bad again.

Interesting but rather mundane post-apocalyptic drama (?). The protagonist is not particularly heroic, or intelligent. Neither is he adventurous or particularly compassionate. But he is good at putting one foot in front of the other. Doing what is necessary, within reason, and as long as it isn't too dangerous and it doesn't require too much effort, to survive and care for his family. In other words, he is a sort of everyman, just like you and me. I prefer heroes.

I first read this novel over 20 years ago in a college history course. It's a story that has stayed with me, and I recently wanted to discover if the book was a good as I remembered it to be. Well, in one sense, it was: Stewart's style is still powerful, the plot timely, and the characters all too human in how they react to the end of the world as they've known it. What I also discovered was how dated this novel is, for some of the same reasons it's still a good story: 'Ish', the main character, is right out of the Cold War era, as he's chauvinistic, detatched, and more than a little pompous at times. The plot is all too familiar to our post-modern world (and King's 'The Stand' has some similarities): some kind of plague wipes out most of the world's population; Ish, bitten by a rattlesnake right before this happens, survives. The first part of the book really puts the reader into a world where Ish fears he is the last survivor. Even when he encounters others, he feels no connection to them. On his cross country trip, he sees no reason to stay with even the kind people he meets; instead, he returns to his parents' house, where he begins to plan for some kind of rebuilding of the former society. Eventually, he meets 'Em', a mixed race older woman, and they collect a small group of survivors who try to continue life as they knew it, children are born, and 'The Tribe' grows. Inserted in the narrative is Stewart's description of the title: as mankind and his works diminish, animals, native plants, nature itself transform and overtake 'civilization'..."Men come and go, but earth abides" (345). At times, Stewart and Ish overdo it with the dramtic language. Ish is not always the most sympathetic character, pompous and seeing himself superior to most of The Tribe. The Tribe doesn't seem to really have the energy to truly rebuild -- or even build anew -- another existence; the incident when the water system breaks down is the best example: even Ish realizes that the survivors and their children don't have either the desire or the knowledge to fix the problem and continue to enjoy indoor plumbing. Even the digging of latrines is never really finished, as no one seems to care when the work gets too hard. One does feel for Ish when he finally realizes that no one cares about the old education; The Tribe essentially regresses to hunting and small farming, but also seems happier than the 'modern' man ever was. Stewart had a good idea of modern man's virtues and foibles, and also provides a thought-provoking study which makes the reader ask "what would I do in this same situation?" You can also see, historically, where this novel fits into the US Cold War fears of complete annihilation of our 'great' way of life, and the land of plenty that the US was in this era: how do the survivors eat? They plunder the cans in the supermarkets for decades. The Tribe simply forages off of what's left behind, and at no time does it seem that the leftovers will ever end. It's an interesting comment on the world Stewart knew, and a compliment to the abundance in the US in the late 1940s, when the novel was first written.

Earth Abides is a 1949 science fiction novel by George R. Stewart. When a plague all but wipes out the human race, a young introverted intellectual decides to observe the way the world responds to the sudden removal of humans, and, later, works to reconstruct certain aspects of civilization while battling to keep education alive.

This is a thoughtful book: one of Stewart's primary themes here is a philosophical take on civilization: its pros and cons, what is gained and lost through starting over, and whether parts or the whole are worth rebuilding. Stewart, with the world's last scholar as his main character, does a wonderful job with this.

But while Earth Abides is all about ideas, Stewart mostly punts on the moral and theological ramifications, as his characters move on quickly when these themes present challenges. In a world where people can't help but focus on death, that's a missed opportunity.

In addition to the book's philosophical emphasis, Stewart's post-apocalyptic world is generally free of unrest and violence. While this allows Stewart to focus on his themes of rebuilding, his characters are rarely in much peril, and there's never much suspense. Yet as Stewart charts the life of his protagonist through the years and decades, the reader becomes invested in and attached to the character, passive and powerless though he may be, and this is why the novel is compelling, and why the reader will not mind the book's many philosophical detours.

On the whole, Earth Abides is an intelligent, poignant and melancholy novel, and one of the finer and more influential works in the genre. Bonus points for an interracial relationship during a hostile era.

George R. Stewart's main character isn't as helpless as a quick glance at the first page reviews may imply. He is a character that is able to do significant hands-on tasks such as auto mechanics, hunting, lead a small surviving group of humanity, and teach and school children. He is just not an expert in these fields, which isn't too surprising for a random person, but in many cases his knowledge and aptitude turned out quite useful. It's just that when one is dealing with what could be the last of humanity, a lot is needed for the human race to go on. Written in 1949, Stewart's Earth Abides makes one reminiscent of that time and of what was available then. Stewart takes some time to describe what happens to the other mammals, although I'm not sure if the prey vs. predator equilibrium was a new idea at that time since he does elaborate on it quite a bit. His visions of primitive and/or overly religious societies in humanity's backslide in certain areas will be quite well known to those that follow more modern writings and films of `the end of the world' genre.

The setting takes place in three time eras, one right after the disease that wipes out most of humanity, one 22 years later, and the last at over 42 years later-probably 50+ years. The first takes place more or less in the time the book was published, 1949. The other one has to realize would then be taking place in what would then be 1971. Now Stewart makes the 22 years go by fairly quickly, but thinking about what happened in the real world between 1949 and 1971, the James Dean era, the hippy movement, Vietnam War, the start of the oil crunch, makes one realize a lot can happen in 22 years as opposed to what Stewart writes. What Stewart seems more to be writing about, isn't the end of the world, but the laziness of man, which eventually becomes a downfall for some and something that needs to be overcome. Now I don't know if he was writing about something he saw in his workplace or in the armed forces if he was in WWII, but he does take it to an extreme. Sure some people may just be tired of an 8 hour workday, when there's so many aspects of life out there, but it's hard to believe one would maintain an utterly lazy lifestyle for 22 years, when there wasn't any need to worry about food for the short term, or how one's retirement plans were going, and instead, without these shackles on one's mind in terms of worrying about the future, not feel free or have interest about how to rebuild society. There are some groups of people in the real world that if you get two of them together, they'll come up with three visions for the future as opposed to almost no visions by the characters of the novel.

The book is also a bit too ideal. Maybe it really was like this in 1949, but the world as I've seen it would have the character's in marital disputes, the usual utterances of "you suck," some saying to get rid of old man Ish, let's move our group, this in no good, that is no good, and so on. However, what makes this novel different from, say the usual post-nuclear-war book, isn't just healthy young men surviving, but a random group of people surviving that somehow have immunity to the disease (although one could say those that have built an immunity by being bitten by a snake represents a certain group of people and that would skew the randomness that Stewart tried to set up in the survivors), so his vision of the type of characters that survive may have some credibility.

Overall it was a fun book to read. Stewart has a flowing, easygoing style that makes you want to keep reading to see how things turn out. It does get a little slow around the 200 page mark, so, as in other books, you just have to plow through it to get to the end. I'd recommend this book. It's one of the better post-apocalyptic novels that came out in the 40's and 50's, and is a compelling read.

I think I first read this book when I was about fourteen, and it made a powerful impression on me then, so much so that I could still remember almost the entire story some forty years later. But, given that youthful impressions are sometimes not all that accurate, I decided to re-read this and see if it is really as good as my memory said. It is.

The scenario is simple: what would happen if a new virus suddenly wipes out almost everyone? And this is no ordinary disease, as the fatality rate is incredibly high, leaving (at most) perhaps one person in 100,000 alive. With this as a starting point, Stewart looks at his new world though the eyes of Isherwood Williams, who is something of a loner, intellectual in outlook, an observer, rather than a doer. This outlook stands him in good stead in the immediate aftermath of the great die-off, as it gives him a reason to live, to observe just how the Earth will react to the sudden removal of that pesky, environment-changing species called man. And reaction there is: ants, rats, dogs, cattle, cats, wheat, corn - each has its fortunes drastically impacted. Many of these changes are detailed in some interstitial material that is told from an omniscient viewpoint, very reminiscent of the similar technique Steinbeck used in The Grapes of Wrath, and perhaps these sections are just as powerful as Steinbeck's, though they don't have quite the great prose-poetry that Steinbeck had. By detailing these changes in this manner, Stewart makes his scenario both highly believable and very immediate.

But Stewart's main focus is what happens to the very few people that are left. Ish eventually finds some other survivors, most especially the lady who will become his wife, Em, and here we find some buried social commentary that probably made this book quite controversial when it was first published in 1949, as Em is not white, a point made very subtly and never directly stated, as one of the clear messages here is that race, looked at from the standpoint of long-term survivability, is of absolutely no consequence.

Another point of departure for this work from the standard disaster scenario is that there is no world-saving hero; mankind cannot get back on its feet in short order and re-establish civilization, and that the great majority of survivors would necessarily live off the leavings of the old civilization, for the simple reason that it is far easier to open a can of tomatoes than grow your own. That this same attitude of doing the minimum to survive would carry over into other aspects of post-disaster living, so that there would be little or no effort to teach children how to read or fix some of civilization's infrastructure as it slowly fails, such as electrical power or water supplies, is perhaps a debatable point, but Stewart's depiction makes this very logical and believable. Right alongside of this portrayed attitude is what do people do when there no longer is any `law': what is right and wrong and how do people cope with actions by some that threaten the survivability of the Tribe? The answer Stewart shows to this problem may disturb some people, but it strikes at the heart of the whole concept of `for the good of the many' and what personal moral responsibility is.

Some have commented that this book is `dated', and there is some of this, as tube radios and phonograph turntables show just where technology was at the time of publication, but any serious reader will quickly realize that the specifics of the technology are immaterial to the thrust of this work. And perhaps somewhat ironically, there is one item detailed here that is as current as tomorrow's headlines, when Ish pulls down a book from the University shelves which details imminent climate change (keep in mind when this written!) and decides that this, too, is irrelevant to his current needs - the climate will be whatever it is, and mankind will just have to live with it.

The last section of this book paints a very powerful picture of just how gods, legends, and social mores become ingrained in a society. Perhaps it's not the prettiest picture of where mankind is headed or how well he'll deal with problems, but it is remarkably plausible and will produce strong feelings of melancholy, despair, and (perhaps) subdued pride.

A remarkable work which avoids just about all the pitfalls of typical post-apocalyptic works, and has a great deal to say about just what makes man man and what is truly relevant to the daily business of living.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

Isherwood Williams is away in the mountains pursuing his graduate field studies in geology. In our iPhone, instant connectivity world it is hard to imagine the isolation this kind of trip entailed in the 1950's when George Stewart wrote his book. Recovering from a snake bite, Ish stumbles back from the hills to find most of humanity wiped out by disease. We follow Ish through the remainder of his life as he comes to terms with a changing Earth--an Earth on which humanity is a barely noticeable presence.

The absence of humanity is not only a stark fact, but is emphasized by the author's writing style. Ish is a clear introvert and we experience much of the Earth's change through his internal monologue. Even when he encounters, interacts with, and teams up with other people, this produces very little dialogue. This style underscores the aloneness of the book's characters. It's not loneliness, in the emotional sense, but a continuing reminder that other people no longer play a significant role in the world.

The Earth itself becomes an evolving character in the book. We experience the successive rise and fall in populations of insects, rats, dogs and other species as seasons in the Earth's changing life. The diminishing resources scavenged by human beings from cities and storehouses are important to their survival, but also serve as markers of change as the Earth sheds the thin layers of Man's influence. This change is not progress, nor is it overly mourned as decline. It is thoroughly described and documented as inevitable change. Ish observes it and reacts to it. But neither he nor the other characters influence its path or pace.

Read and compare this book with two other classics of post-Apocalyptic fiction: Alas, Babylon and The Day of the Triffids. These works also follow their characters through crises, scavenging, and attempts to preserve the technology and civilization of the past. They are both more optimistic and more social in narrative style and in the strategies followed by their characters. After reading them, return to Earth Abides and appreciate it for the melancholy and aloneness felt by both its characters and its readers. It is a good story, a moving experience, and a skillful integration of message and writing style.

Earth Abides is George R. Stewart's best book. Stewart was not a Science Fiction writer, as illustrated by his other work. He was a professor at U.C. Berkeley who specialized in geographical place names. He also wrote novels about natural events: "Storm," about a winter storm in the California Sierras, and "Fire," about a fire in the Sierra's. And my personal 2nd favorite - a book about the Donner Party that tried to cross the Sierra's late in the year and ended up eating each other (this is history, not fiction).

Earth Abides is Stewart's idea of what would happen if 99.99 % of the population died off; and the last 0.01% was left to reconstruct civilization. His group kept fire, and tanning of leather, and the bow & arrow, but not weaving or pottery, nor the idea of textiles, sheep shearing, spinning wool, and weaving, all of which requires staying in place rather than the nomadic life style predicted by Stewart.

EARTH ABIDES is such an amazing book. In fact, I happened to keep my high school copy rather than returning it before graduation. Deep down, I think my teacher knew and was happy to take the loss.

I have three books that I will not part with - EARTH ABIDES, THE STAND, and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. EARTH ABIDES and THE STAND have a lot in common. I am surprised, as were others, by all of those who gave this book such a low rating.

The story tells the tale of a college student, Ish, who is working on his thesis up in the mountains. He gets bitten by a rattlesnake and heads to lower ground for help only to discover the human population has been wiped out thanks to some weird plague. The story becomes Ish's quest to live as supposedly the last human on earth.

First, I want to clarify that this book was written in the 1940s. Those who complained about the writing being poor, one guy even said the book was written in the 60s and he is wrong, need to look at the times. The world in the 1940s was far different to today. If you cannot adapt to the language differences, skip this book. While I find it rather narrowminded, I also understand the world is full of people who just can't stand something that is different to the norm.

In the 1940s, they didn't have the computers, men were working away from their family farms, they'd become used to modern technology, so it isn't surprising that Ish would have allowed so many things to slip by for decades. If the world ended tomorrow how many can honestly say they would know how to irrigate their crops? How many even know how to garden?

At heart, EARTH ABIDES needs to be viewed with the consideration of the differences in time. It is and always will be my favorite book.

EARTH ABIDES is lauded as one of the most noteworthy post-apocalyptic novels ever written. It was originally published in 1949, and its author, George R. Stewart, was better known as a writer of nonfiction than fiction, but EARTH ABIDES is easily his most recognized work--it has been in print off and on for nearly fifty years.

Isherwood (Ish) Williams is a graduate student working on his thesis--"The Ecology of the Black Creek Area"--in the wilds of northern California when a virulent virus destroys humanity. When Ish returns to civilization he finds emptiness. There are no bodies littering the streets, no signs of struggle, nothing except the surreal stillness of empty towns, streets, businesses and homes. Everything is gone, and Ish doesn't understand what has happened until he reads the bleak, desperate headlines of the last issue of a newspaper in an abandoned magazine shop.

EARTH ABIDES is the story of how Isherwood Williams survives the death of humanity, and with it, modern civilization. He is man of intellect--he mourns the passing of knowledge--and he can visualize the future not as an abstract idea, but as it very well may be. Ish chronicles the remnants of humanity as they form themselves into small tribes. They live off what the "old ones" left. They open cans for food; they raid sporting goods stores for firearms and ammunition, and miraculously they survive and grow. Ish begins his journey as an observer, but he quickly finds himself a participant of this new world.

EARTH ABIDES is one of the most troublesome novels I have read. It is troublesome for two reasons. The first is the writing--style, narrative, and plotting--drove me batty. In a matter of pages it would cycle from being an immensely powerful and energetic story to a dull, over analytical and tiresome diatribe. One of the reasons for this wild and frequent swing was the frequent, every few pages, interruption of the narrative with an omniscient perspective spoiler: It was italicized and, in a very technical and academic style, told exactly what was going to happen in the next few pages. It interrupted the flow of the prose, and generally annoyed me.

Secondly, it was a very unflattering look at just how terrible it would be to survive the death of civilization. There is nothing romantic, or eerie, or wholesome, or evil, as in many other popular post-apocalyptic stories--but rather it showed the difficultly, the loneliness and down right miserable aspects of surviving past modern civilization. It read very realistic--the way it would be if our neighbors suddenly died and one or two of us were left holding the bag: suicides, drugs, alcohol and insanity all the flavor of the day.

This aspect of the novel was its strength--Mr. Stewart's visions of desperation were apt and vivid. One example of this is when Ish returns to an empty world, and drives through town after town honking his horn, and then waiting for the answering honk that never comes. Ish's loneliness and desperation is palpable and completely understood by the reader.

EARTH ABIDES was a roller coaster ride. I enjoyed it yes, but I also disliked it. It is a novel filled with ideas, but its impact is lessened with the over-evaluation of those ideas. If you enjoy a good post-apocalyptic novel EARTH ABIDES may be the answer, but tread warily, because some of its impact and importance has worn away with the passing years.

-Gravetapping

Isherwood Williams is away in the mountains pursuing his graduate field studies in geology. In our iPhone, instant connectivity world it is hard to imagine the isolation this kind of trip entailed in the 1950's when George Stewart wrote his book. Recovering from a snake bite, Ish stumbles back from the hills to find most of humanity wiped out by disease. We follow Ish through the remainder of his life as he comes to terms with a changing Earth--an Earth on which humanity is a barely noticeable presence.

The absence of humanity is not only a stark fact, but is emphasized by the author's writing style. Ish is a clear introvert and we experience much of the Earth's change through his internal monologue. Even when he encounters, interacts with, and teams up with other people, this produces very little dialogue. This style underscores the aloneness of the book's characters. It's not loneliness, in the emotional sense, but a continuing reminder that other people no longer play a significant role in the world.

The Earth itself becomes an evolving character in the book. We experience the successive rise and fall in populations of insects, rats, dogs and other species as seasons in the Earth's changing life. The diminishing resources scavenged by human beings from cities and storehouses are important to their survival, but also serve as markers of change as the Earth sheds the thin layers of Man's influence. This change is not progress, nor is it overly mourned as decline. It is thoroughly described and documented as inevitable change. Ish observes it and reacts to it. But neither he nor the other characters influence its path or pace.

Read and compare this book with two other classics of post-Apocalyptic fiction: Alas, Babylon and The Day of the Triffids. These works also follow their characters through crises, scavenging, and attempts to preserve the technology and civilization of the past. They are both more optimistic and more social in narrative style and in the strategies followed by their characters. After reading them, return to Earth Abides and appreciate it for the melancholy and aloneness felt by both its characters and its readers. It is a good story, a moving experience, and a skillful integration of message and writing style.

Isherwood (Ish) Williams has recently finished grad school and is camping in California when he is bitten by a rattlesnake. At first the injury seems minor, but he rapidly descends into a delirium-filled illness. After several weeks, he gradually regains his senses wondering how a simple snake bite could have affected him so strongly. He heads back into town and find everyone gone. It seems a bit odd at first, but Ish thinks to himself that perhaps it is Sunday (he has lost track of time). He eventually comes across a newspaper that describes a devastating plague that has swept across the country, and he becomes aware of the full magnitude of the catastrophe that has struck the United States and the World. What follows is one of the best stories about post-apocalyptic survival ever written.

This book is divided into three sections, the first two taking the lion's share of the space. In the first section, Ish discovers the plague, realizes he is one of the few survivors, and decides to take a cross country trek to see who and what else has survived. In the second section, set 22 years after the first, Ish has settled down with a small number of other survivors who start families in the SF bay area. We see the first and second generations of children born after the plague who have no concept or awareness of what we would term modern civilization (and all that implies for better or worse). We follow the slow decay of the remnants of the earlier civilization, and the construction of a new way of life. In the final section, Ish is an old, dying man reflecting on his life and all that has happened. In between each of the three major sections are brief vignettes that cover the major events of the the chapters that are set decades apart.

This is largely an introspective tale about Ish's thoughts and emotions as his world crumbles around him and is rebuilt and transformed. If you're looking for a story about a lone survivor battling mutant zombies or some such thing, you'll be disappointed. In the first section, Ish is just trying to make sense of what happened and figure out what he wants to do. In the second, he tries to teach the children of his small community something about what life was like prior to the plague and maintain some continuity with the past. One of the children ask him what an American was, and Ish finds that it isn't so easy to explain. In the third section, Ish is the only pre-plague survivor left in the community, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren now unrecognizeably changed to cope with their new environment. There is some action in this story, but not much. One of the best aspects of this story (and this genre in general) is that the author explores what would happen to all the trappings of modern life if the machinery just stopped. In some ways, the changes would be immediate and profound, in others, changes would take more time.

The bottom line is that this sad, introspective tale woven around some Biblical themes is an all-time classic in my view and definitely recommended. There are some outdated (or just plain different) ideas and ways of thinking in this book (Stewart wrote it in the late '40s I believe), but don't let that stop you from reading the book. Stewart conveys a message and asks some questions that are relevant to people and human nature whatever epoch they happened to be born in. People will be reading this 100 years from now. I read this book (along with Alas Babylon) many years ago as a teen and decided to re-read the pair again. There are many powerful images from this book that I still remember now decades later. My view now has changed a bit as I can understand Stewart's central message better, but no matter what you think about this genre in general, this is a timeless story that you'll never forget.

Let me preach: I consider it a crime that _Earth Abides_ is out of print. But I can understand why. It challenges way too many of modern man's notions. It is seditious in the quietest of ways.
I had never heard of this book till I wrote a review for _I Am Legend_.
Some people compared both books and out of curiosity I picked it up at a used book store.
Wow! Why is this book not in the canon of great works of American literature? True, it is a 300 page (in the paperback) _meditation_ by one man on the fall and gradual rise of mankind. I can understand why some reviewers loathe the book. It is an observation, not an adventure. The hero's meditations merely travel through time; through space his travels are almost incidental.
Our hero, Ish, is no Odysseus. He is no Don Quijote. He is no Robin Hood or King Arthur or Moses. He is an ordinary scholar, a grief-stricken individual trying to come to terms with post-traumatic stress after witnessing the near-universal death of the human race. All he can do is make heroic attempts to _keep track_ of events and time.
His meditations and road trip bring him in contact with stoic people, with depressed people, with defensive people and at one point, his Tribe encounters religious fanatics--all isolated groups of survivors trying to cope and remake society in their image.
As _written by Stewart_, Ish's burden and character are not those of a civilization builder but rather of a witness to decay, ruin, and eventual rebirth, in which Ish _realizes_ that hubris and a need to control "fate/destiny/the future" drove much human action, human culture, and the human spirit.
Ish's insights continually bowled me over as I turned page after page. His meditations on technology, progress, humanity, eugenics, government, economics, religion, philosophy, superstition, anthropology, education, and literacy (all man-made institutions) constantly challenged my views and I began an internal dialogue with Ish's character!
Ish/Stewart challenges a lot of notions of what we call progress and culture. Amazing. No wonder some people have hated and, doubtless, will hate this book. Prepare to have your attitudes about culture, and civilization,--and what makes a _great literary character_--challenged.
It's not one of those, what-would-you-do-in-this-scenario novels, but rather an exposition of what one man _learns_ from his circumstances. Does he challenge them? Fight back? Does he mold circumstances to his spirit or does he go along with them? Is the "individual acting upon his circumstance and vice-versa" _question_ some kind of cosmic constant?
There are earthquakes, forest fires, city-wide conflagrations. The daily amenities are gone: water, power, fire/police protection, doctors/medicine, etc. You are on your own. What do you do? Responses are manifold. Ish's response and that of his "tribe" is just one. That is the brilliance of this novel. You can understand Ish's actions, but would they be yours? Would any actions make a "difference?" What is this "difference" and who gauges/judges it? Therein lies the crux of the novel. Those who hate the novel seem to resent this existential/metaphysical point.
A harsher critic would say that "events happen" in _Earth Abides_ in order for Stewart to make his point. Fair enough. Very few characters are developed with fine detail, but that is not the point of this novel. The novel is _about Ish_, the man, his conundrums and his meditations. Not about what we would have done or written or how we would have developed the "supporting characters."
Oh, and the pathos in this book is very real. The human universals occur: love, births, bondings/friendship, weddings, tribalism, leadership-rivalry, loss, death. And even a morally ambiguous, ethics-challenging execution.
If a few scenes don't bring you to profound sorrow, well...let's just say _I_ experienced the sorrow and emotion of the scene as the novel unfolded.
I will not reveal more, but this sad and haunting novel is worth the read. This is a novel that for some reason reminded me of H.G. Wells's _The Time Machine_. Shelley's "Ozymandias" and Yeats's The Second Coming" come to mind as well. Read it and buy your friends a copy. Be a friend. Be well. The Earth Abides.

I read this book in the 60s, just over a decade after it came out. When I read some of the reviews here, I decided to skim through it again. What had surprised me were the negative reviews. I remembered the story as a very interesting one, with characters I could appreciate, if not like.

What I found different was the fiction that has come along in the past 40 years. In "the old days" fiction often was more thoughtful with less action and more introspection. Characters did not always solve the problems with which they were confronted (although I must admit that this was not the case as often in science fiction). Stewart in Earth Abides gives us a world in which nearly the entire population of the earth has died from a pandemic. Ish, the main character, spends much time alone in the beginning. As the few survivors begin to gather together, they look to him for leadership, something he's not certain he is qualified to do. The exception is that he is well read, and his greatest passion is to preserve the library in the area in which he lives.

(spoiler lieth here) Some of the reviewers here seem surprised at the deterioration of civilization amongst the group. Were they as surprised if they read Lord of the Flies? True, those characters were all children, but many of Stewart's characters are uneducated or unsophisticated, who never understand Ish's preoccupation with the knowledge housed in that library. They are too busy learning to survive with none of the trappings of modern life, and without the tools to re-create that life. The story is depressing as one reads the slide into savagery. But what is represented is one possible outcome should such a holocaust occur in the world.

For different outcomes, try reading Day of the Triffids (there be monsters), or Malevil. Or see the old b&w film Things to Come. This was once a very popular sub-genre of science fiction and many possible outcomes have been depicted.

This book turned out to be both amazingly rewarding and incredibly exasperating, which is why I can't make it a 5-star favorite even though I'm terribly tempted. Unfortunately, there was a huge chunk I really didn't enjoy enough to justify doing that. Bear with me though because I just might change my mind. But before I get to the reasons why, anyone curious about reading Earth Abides should know that a good 2/3 to 3/4 was pretty much ALL observational narrative. Supposedly, although how could anyone really know, this is more of a realistic vision of a post-apocalyptic world, at least much more than the Hunger Games variety oh so prevalent these days. As such we get drawn out accounts of the life cycles of ants or rats and other fauna, post-mankind of course, as well as the minutiae of mundane daily activities. Still, there were several inconsistencies for me, such as where were all the dead bodies? For a quick acting virus to seemingly wipe out the entire human race (in less than two weeks!), there were no bodies in the streets (save one in the very beginning) or in any of the homes which merely appeared to be abandoned.

In addition every single character frustrated the hell out of me, including our protagonist, Ish. It seemed all he could do was bemoan the stupidity of those who survived even as he himself continued to be ineffectual - and all the while cultivating a god complex. One could see how that could occur, however, since everyone was so completely complacent, content to live off the remnants of civilization after "The Great Disaster". Ish alone could see the dangers and futility of this, yet he was all too paralyzed by his cerebral nature and lack of leadership skills to do anything but worry. He was esteemed by his community of survivors as a visionary, if not mildly indulged, but certainly not taken seriously. Perhaps complacency is a more accurate portrayal of the response to a true apocalypse than we've been led to believe. I don't know though, either it just didn't ring true or I've been brainwashed into the vanity of human specialness and ingenuity. I'll just say they really could have used an action oriented "Type A" person around, but nope, not a one in sight. I'm guessing the plague must have taken them out first.

What's more it was sometimes difficult to get past the outdated views of race and gender presented in this book, which was written in 1949; although I think an attempt was made to portray Ish as somewhat progressive due to his status as a scholar and intellectual. Every time some comment or characterization served to remind me of the publication date, however, I had to tell myself he, through the lens of the author of course, was thinking and acting realistically as a white male product of the era. It was certainly a reminder that we have come a long way despite lingering attitudes and unresolved issues.

Yet, regardless of these criticisms, some moments were beautifully written and captivating, arousing my curiosity enough as to want to see where it would all lead. And lead somewhere it most certainly did, enough to ultimately view all of my complaints as nitpicking, moreover, as imperative to the story's denouement and essential message. It's just too bad it was so protracted, or more likely that I am too much a product of our short attention span times to appreciate such a nuanced build up for what it was. The unending minutiae, the frustrations with the characters, even the race and sex issues to some extent, were crafted with such subtle intent as to come together in a powerfully emotional, meaningful climax. The long-awaited denouement was not only deeply satisfying, but possibly the most effective, beautiful, and emotionally wrenching of any book I have ever read. I came to realize how invested in Ish I had become.

I can't say much more without taking away the possibility of this same affective experience from anyone piqued enough to give this book a go. All I can say is everything that happens matters. It is a story about life, its ebbs and flows, how it endures and how it comes full-circle. Ultimately it is about the nature of man (yes, mostly man rather than woman, sorry to say, but again - 1949) and faith in humanity. But in its essence it is about faith in the earth, in both its constancy and change, and in its transcendence. Despite constant frustration throughout most of the story, I haven't been able to let this one go. It is one of those books. The beauty and power of its conclusion will stay with me for a long, long time. If you read it, ignore all my nitpickings and stick with it. You won't regret it.

Men come and go, but Earth Abides. That’s the premise of this entire book. It’s a hard thing to come to terms with, that people are temporary. We go through life every day with the notion in our heads that nothing can hurt us and we’re at the top of the food chain. We don’t stop to think about the bigger picture, about how our actions may eventually start something we will have no control over. Stewart opens up with that in mind. We follow Ish, who in the opening pages is bitten by a snake and goes out of his way to bring home a hammer. He is a college student who is forced to grow up alone and deal with the “new world”. There has been an apocalyptic event, and most of the human population has been wiped out by an unnamed disease. At first there seems to be an over abundance of food, and people go on stealing from liquor stores and jewelry trying to find comfort in them. He’s on his own for a while, and we see him come to terms with accepting that his family and friends are dead and he has no idea what this world will have in store for him. He eventually meets a woman and she becomes his family. They gradually add more people to their “tribe” and mark the years that pass by on a rock with the hammer. With most of mankind dead, dogs and cats that are fortunate enough to be free outside are faced with the “kill or be killed” mentality, while Ish and his “tribe” of people stay secluded and keep amongst themselves. When they are faced with new-comers they are skeptical, and when they find out he carries STD’s the choice of whether to spare him or save themselves is hardly a choice at all. They unanimously choose to get rid of the one person that threatens their entire existence.

While reading this, I empathized with the human aspect of it. It’s a good story, and I think it more or less accurately describes how someone would function had this actually happened. Even today we, like Ish, have all these ideas of how to stop mankind from destroying the earth- but that’s all they are, ideas. Ish has all these ideas on how to fix the electricity, how to bring the flowing water back, but doesn’t give his tribe the tools to do it. He starts a school for the children of his tribe but when they lose interest he lets them stop. And so they know nothing about reading or doing simple arithmetic or even what “Arizona” was. While they have no interest in school, they all are fixated on the hammer. It becomes sort of a relic to them and gives Ish something to believe in while the children know nothing else. Carson’s book heavily examines the United States obsession with chemicals in a post WWII society. We didn’t care what we were hurting as long as we were getting results. People were good at trying to put a positive face on DDT spraying but the reality is that poison is still poison. I think Earth Abides could possibly show the outcome of what goes on in Carson’s book Silent Spring. If you stay silent, and let people do whatever they want to the earth, eventually nature is going to try and rebalance itself out. The basic instinct and only way to rebuild at that point would be to completely level out what’s destroying it, and that’s us.

Reading this book today, it’s not a scary as it was when it came out. Because the technology that was around then seems like ages ago, because people now don’t know anything else. We live in world that has the universe in the palm of their hand. You don’t know how to do something? Google it. Can you even imagine living now without that? We have coffee that pours without any buttons being touched, cars that start automatically and without keys, news within seconds of stories breaking and so much more. Our world would shatter without technology. So I do commend Stewart for showing how these people only seventy years ago were able to develop a functioning system.

It’s terrifying to think that in one instant something can happen that could change our lives forever. It’s even worse to think that we are all just little pieces of this earth, pieces that can be switched out or taken away for good. In the end, all we really are going to have is ourselves, to rebuild, to move on. Some people may abandon their faith while others might cling on to seemingly insignificant objects, like the hammer. The bottom line is that anything can happen, nothing is permanent. And there’s nothing in this world that can make you feel more alone than that.

One of the better disaster novels to come out in this century, Stewart essentially takes the Robinson Crusoe point of view and applies it to (then) contemporary America, having a plague wipe out most people, even though the rationale that it's because people are too numerous is a little on the shaky side, he should have just taken the Solaris route and said he didn't know. Would have made things more interesting. However, in itself the novel is an excellent and very realistic portrayal of people struggling to live after everyone else is gone. Nobody has any real need for ambition since everything they could ever want is right there. The main character is the only one who can think ahead far enough to see that the children have to be taught so that civilization can come back but when the book ends it's unclear if that will ever happen. The point I think is to show that we're not better than the animals when it comes to civilization and that our intelligence doesn't necessarily make us better, an old point, to say the least but one that should be stated often. Evolutionarily the human race just got lucky and as quick as we rose (a million years isn't that long really when you figure the age of the planet) we can fall just as fast. And the thing that makes Earth Abides so more real is that civilization isn't restarted, to have that happen would seem unreal, a small group of people does not a civilization make and to have them turn into some sort of super-community to go across the US and return society to what it was before would just seem unrealistic and that would have ruined the point of the book. The way it's written now is much more interesting because even though it's so depressing, it feels that much more likely and thus in the end is more satisfying.

I heard about "Earth Abides" from someone reviewing "The Stand". In their review, they indicated "The Stand" was a one for one rip off of "Earth Abides". I decided to investigate this accusation and started reading an old edition of George Stewart's book. This book investigates what could potentially happen to human civilization if most people died from a highly contagious disease. The decay of civilization is seen through the eyes of the main character, Isherwood Williams.

First, what was my impression of the book? I enjoy reading sci-fi and have read my share of "end of the world" books including "Alas Babylon", "The Stand", "War Day", "The White Plague", and most recently "The Road". I did not enjoy the writing style of this author. It was not fluid and was archaic. However, the subject matter was interesting as was the thought the author put into the story. Ultimately, the author kept my attention.

How does this book compare to "The Stand"? They are two entirely different books. "The Stand" is more realistic in depicting the immediate aftermath of a plague. However afterwards, it becomes more of a "good versus evil" tale whereas "Earth Abides" seriously contemplates the state of civilization years after the plague. All in all, both books are worthy reads.

"Earth Abides" is at times is an awkward read. However, the story is interesting and well thought out. All in all, I recommend the book.

This is a story of the first years and the ensuing decades in the lives of the very few survivors of a natural plague. At first, there is a detailed overview of one survivor's (the main character and often narrator per se) actions in the first several months after the plague. This account of the "short-term" impact of a plague has been seen in other SF stories and might seem repetitous. But where this story is different, and where this novel is in a class of its own, is where the plot goes when this survivor meets others and small families begin and a community develops. The challenges which are faced by and met with by this group are detailed, yet are those involving environment and illness which are perhaps expected. But more interesting is what new moral values that arise and what "holdover" values (school, religion) which are attempted to be maintained, but are not or can't be embraced by the new generations which follow. The book follows the community though several decades, jumping years and stopping to go into detail about an event or time period -- but giving several pages in between as a summary to provide a good junction between sections...thus keeping the story flowing. The book ends with the natural death of the main character and seeing that the new generations have embraced a "new and different" value, knowledge, and societal system which is suprisingly similar to another culture -- and perhaps quietly challenging the reader to ask whether or not such the result is good or bad; and, whether or not the result was destiny, or the result of proper or improper actions of the original group of survivors. For a book written in the late 1940's, it was very, very far ahead of it's time.

It is rare these days to read a book that sticks with you. Although survivors eating decades old canned food is not believable, the writing and the story itself more than make up for that. Very readable, intelligent, thoughtful approach to post-apocalyptic survival. Better than modern novels I have read in this genre.

I was tempted to give it 3 stars only because I usually skip the 5-star reviews because so many of them are shills. I always check the 2 and 3 star reviews for more honest assessments. That said, I just couldn't downgrade this book because it was so well done.

George Stewart has crafted a science fiction tale that stands up fairly well to the test of time. Although it was first published in 1949, the language and ideas are still immediately relevant today. What would happen to you if civilization fell apart? How would you survive? How would people treat each other?

The tale unfolds gradually, without suspense. For me, this was not quite the memorable novel that the highlighted reviewers described. I read the whole thing, but I could have easily put it down halfway through, since I did not develop a deep emotional attachment to the story or its characters. The novel is told in the third person, but through the eyes of Ish, the main character. This unusual point of view puts the reader at a distance. I didn't feel that I really knew any of the characters in the book, except for Ish.

Ish has a bland personality. He is one who accepts his lot in life, even his lot in death. As the workings of civilization fail, he notes their passing. In the end, he does little to oppose his tribe's drift back into the stone age. This engendered my main disappointment with the novel. Why did the author make the protagonist so weak? There have been great novels fashioned out of weak characters, but ultimately I did not find greatness in this book. It is well written, but it did not fulfill my expectations.

Ish, a college student, survives a rattlesnake bite and mysterious illness alone on a mountain camping trip. When he recovers, he can't find anyone and slowly realizes a plague has wiped out the human race. He wanders across the country, finding only a few stunned survivors and makes an intelligent and courageous decision to not join the first people he finds. After a period of terrible isolation, he finds Em, a true survivor like himself. They are happy together and attract five other survivors. A tiny little tribe grows around them. Ish devotes his life to trying to bring back civilization as he knew it. He fails at his superficial efforts at farming and at educating the children. He succeeds beyond his deepest dreams at giving his descendants the tools they need to create a healthy, happy way of life. The novel works as a thought-provoking study of what do you do when the world collapses around you. It has some weaknesses. Here and there, the fact it was written in 1949 shows. One can argue that Ish would have been able to get the children to read if only he hadn't been such a boring pedant and he could have been a better farmer if he'd been willing to explore alternate ways and crops. The book's strengths greatly outweigh its weaknesses. For one thing, with not much action, it's a true page turner. This is a fantastic novel to discuss and to argue about and to ponder the fundamental question it raises. What would you do for the rest of your life if you survived the end of the world?

That about sums it up for me. All others on this theme (with the honourable exception of John Wyndham's "The Day of the Triffids") are just cheap imitations. Earth Abides is the real thing

Civilisation, and some 99.99% of the human race, is gone. The few survivors, all traumatised by what has happened to them (some more obviously than others, but they all are) either just commit suicide, drink themselves to death, live out their lonely lives in some familiar spot, or, as with Ish and his companions, get together into little "tribes".

Having already read a few reviews, I get the impression that there are few neutrals on this one. You either love it (the majority, including me) or hate it. For me, Earth Abides' big virtue is precisely what some people seem to dislike about it. Its characters are just dead ordinary. Even Ish, the nearest thing to a brain among them, is too passive and contemplative to be more than a titular head. There are no survivalists who have long been waiting for the day; no jacks of all trades, conveniently endowed with all the needed skills, and above all no "natural leaders" (aka bullies and control freaks) out to remake the world in their own image. (Perhaps Charlie had some ambitions that way, but fortunately he is bumped off before the question can arise). They are in fact just a bunch of very average or even below-average people, trying to make a life for themselves amidst the ruins of the world. That, I suspect, is pretty much how such an aftermath would really be.

Indeed, on considering the matter, I feel Stewart did a really good job of making his characters internally consistent. They are, essentially, the ones who come through the end of the world - and just react with a shrug. "The human race is almost entirely wiped out, civilisation's gone and we're all back in the Dark Ages. Now what do I do about breakfast?" Well, to be fair, Ish does throw up in the sink when it finally "sinks" in that his parents won't ever be coming home, but that's where it ends. If he ever considers the matter again, we aren't told about it. The other characters take a largely similar attitude. Em apparently had a family pre-Disaster, but never talks about them, while Ezra and the others have even less to say. They just write off their losses and "move on".

Well, fair enough. That is probably exactly how they need to be in the situation. This attitude is probably what allows them to come through without being driven into insanity and/or suicide. But of course it has consequences. First off, it implies a decided lack of empathy toward fellow beings. Unlike some reviewers, I'm not particularly disturbed at their willingness to hang Charlie, and to at least consider "mercy killing" of the retarded Evie. Given such personalities, this is exactly how they would be. Indeed, it says much for their basic decency that they agonise as much as they do over the first decision, and never take the second one at all. Stewart has made his characters act "in character", as an author should.

Secondly, however helpful this attitude was in seeing them through the immediate aftermath, it is far less so when it's time to think of rebuilding. Having taken the Disaster itself almost in their stride, they are likewise accepting of its aftermath, and generally take only such action as is forced on them by circumstances. The "Lewis and Clark" expedition in Year 22 is distinctly exceptional. And Ish's basically solitary disposition stultifies his attempt to educate the children. The only one he can "reach" is an academic loner exactly like himself, after whose death he essentially gives up. Stewart has wonderfully portrayed how the virtues which were such a help at the start of the book have now turned into vices.

Loooking back on it (I first read the book at age ten) I have some minor gripes. In particular, the Great Disaster itself seems more than a little "sanitised", with mankind dying and all the bodies neatly tidied away, during Ish's two-week absence. Somehow, that does not quite carry conviction. Apart from that, however, my only real complaint is that Stewart was content with a single book, when the theme deserved a trilogy at least.

Read and enjoy

An astonishing science fiction novel in the apocalyptic vein, written in 1949, and despite a surprisingly few dated references, a story that remains both entertaining and relevant. In the beginning, protagonist Isherwood Williams (with the unfortunate nickname of "Ish") is one of the few survivors of a virus that wipes out a majority of the human population. Ish is in his twenties, an over-educated outsider, who stands on the margins of society analyzing and contemplating what he sees. After a solo excursion across the county and returning to the Bay Area, California, he slowly joins up with an assortment of characters, and becomes the de facto leader of "The Tribe". The struggles that confront them are meticulously well thought out and explicated by the author while rarely dragging down the narrative. The slow decay of an industrial society with no one left to manage it and the natural environment no longer held at bay serve as the antagonists. There are no sci-fi pulp orientated elements such as giant mutant killer ants (for better or worse). Threatening the Tribe are scourges of rats, wild dogs, and other animals, as various species overpopulate until starvation brings their numbers down again. There are outbreaks of disease to be dealt with and wild brush fires caused by dead trees no longer cleared away. The novel deftly provides details such as what happens to the plumbing when city reservoirs dry up and fall into disrepair. The real strength of the book, however, is how Ish is forced to confront what knowledge and wisdom needs to be passed on to the future generations in order to rebuild society. Hence with his intelligent introspective nature, interwoven into this entertaining story are thoughtful reflections on what purposes societies serve, what they protect us from, and even what they blind us to and cause us to take for granted. This is a timeless classic our own civilization would be mistaken to let slip into the "out-of-print" abyss.

George Stewart's "Earth Abides" is regarded as a classic of the overcrowded post-apocalyptic genre, and for good reason. But the book achieved classic status only because its post-apocalyptic setting is a secondary feature of the narrative.

Stewart didn't write an adventure story about a loner/survivor who must fend off attacks from marauding mutants. In fact, given the context, there is surprisingly little action at all.

Instead, "Earth Abides" puts you inside the mind of the main character, Ish, for an extended meditation on the nature, specifically the frailty, of human existence.

Stewart ranges far and wide, if not deeply, into an astonishing array of issues, from the personal to the universal. That said, there is a core idea, which the title expresses in part:

Earth abides. The dude does not.

It is a pagan formulation: Earth 1, Humanity 0. And while I would put it another way, I'm at least grateful that Stewart made me think. Who needs marauding mutants?

I really enjoyed this novel from the apocalyptic genre very much. It was not a fantasy good versus evil type of story but rather a speculative look at how civilization might fare if there was a sudden die-off of 99% of the population. In this story there is a sudden plague of such devastating severity that nearly everyone is dead within a couple of weeks of its outset. This book does not focus on the plague or the sufferings of the infected and dying people. No grisly oozing bodies are found in these pages and very little trauma or grief. We enter the picture shortly after the dust has settled, so to speak. The story is not about the plague but about its aftermath. It is told from the perspective of one man who survives and traces his experiences as he goes in search of other survivors and finally settles back in his native California and makes the foundation of a new "tribe" of civilized human beings. This book was written in 1949 so it is doubly interesting because it not only gives us a look at the author's speculation about the factors that make up civilization and the interesting trials and successes that might arise, but it also gives us an amazing look at the huge changes that have taken place in our consciousness just in the short period of years since it was written. It has the unexpected bonus of actually confirming some of the points the story originally was designed to suggest. Even though the author seems as though he was an open-minded, perhaps even liberal thinker, the book contains ridiculous racial stereo-types, as well as skewed ideas about the personhood of mentally disabled people and also of women. Women are shown as being entirely domestic and dependent. Cigarette smoking is still very much a happy pastime in this brave new world and is enjoyed by men and their pregnant wives without a care in the world. When a plague of ants becomes a problem the main character, Ish, sprays himself and his pregnant wife down thoroughly with DDT, a substance that is used several times in the surviving world to overcome pests. I found these old-fashioned ideas very interesting when coming from a "reasonable" man that no one of his time would have considered to be prejudiced. The book is a thought-provoking page-tuner. I kept imagining that I would have done things in a much different way from the main character but I found the ideas and reasoning to be essentially sound and worth contemplating. This is an interesting look at how the Earth might rid herself of the virus called mankind and is certainly a good look at the power of her self-healing capabilities. I definitely recommend this book.

Earth Abides is a book concerning a plague that kills off most of humanity and the survivors' attempts to reconstruct civilization. The pace of the book is rapid in the beginning and the reader doesn't have to get very far before they realize something terrible has happened. We are initially with one character, Isherwood Williams, who seems emotionally well suited to survive this tragedy in which 99% of everyone has died in the space of two to three weeks. The story continues with Ish traveling across the country looking for survivors and eventually returning to his home in Berkeley, CA where he meets a woman, Em, and they marry each other. Slowly a group of people calling themselves "The Tribe" forms and Ish tries to lead his small group back towards civilization and away from a more "primitive" existence.
Strengths are the good character development as well as interesting asides on how the world is readjusting to no longer having man dominate it. It offers some interesting insights on human nature and societies in general and as a disaster book ranks highly on the list. In a sense it is like The Stand except for that this plague is strictly natural, not a tool for a climatic battle between good and evil. The plague simply comes and kills humanity off and that is that.
Some of the negatives are found in the style of writing. This book was written in the late 1940's and the language used is rather dry. The author seems to go overboard on his word usage and sometimes seems to be talking down to the audience a bit.
Still, if you like disaster stories you should pick up Earth Abides, it is well worth any effort.
Robert Merkamp

Let's start with the book's obvious problems. First, the author is a creature of his times -- the 1940's, and his views relect those times. He is paternalistic towards African Americans and women, and he feels that people without much formal education are not very smart or capable. Second, his main character, Ish, is not likeable; he is lazy, selfish, unloving (for the most part), rather anti-social, inflexible, and egotistical. (I am not sure that the author intended Ish to be unlikeable, as Ish is also a creature of his times.) Third, the author's view of the post-apocalytic world does not ring true; even given the dolts that the author has chosen to survive this catastrophe, surely more of the modern world would have survived -- at least for a few generations. (Example [MILD SPOILER]: would middle-class Americans ever decide not to teach their children to read? If there ever were a group of people who needed to know how to read, it would be this new generation!) Fourth, I do not find the biology/physics of this new world to be believable. (Example: where did all of the bodies go?) Fifth, the "mother earth" motif that runs throughout the book is hackneyed -- though, in fairness, it might have been fresh in the 1940's.

Still, I liked the book. It is a book of ideas dressed up as a post-apocalyptic tale. What does it mean to be human? How does one balance the needs of the group against the needs of the individual? What is culture? What aspects of life/culture have value? What is love? What role should religion play in society? What role should education play? How does one go on after a devastating loss? How can people relate across generational lines? Can one generation truly lead another? What is happiness? What skills in life are most important? When is violence justified? What does death mean? How does one motivate and lead others? What does "fun" mean? How do small group dynamics play out? What function do rituals and symbols play in life? How do cultures adjust to rapid change?

I did not usually agree with the author's answers to these questions (when he provided them), but they did challenge me. I have thought a lot about the book since completing it.

This timeless masterpiece recounts the most likely of the various apocalyptic ends to man's brief reign on Earth. Written from a naturalist's viewpoint, the novel recounts the fall of man following a sweeping measles-like pandemic. The author deftly informs us that the unknown disease is sirborne, that it hits only higher primates, and that the death toll is so all-encompassing that society simply vanishes. Mr Stewart also notes that the bulk of the few survivors are so devastated by the event that they become incapacitated. He also recounts nature's way of restoring an upset ecological balance and how the remaining animals cope with their new-found freedom.
Ish Williams, the main character, himself goes through a period of psychological angst, but as with some persons in any crisis, recovers his equilibrium. He sees and meets others who cannot, but eventually meets an equally resolute woman. The book then briefly, but viably, notes how mores change when society disintegrates.

In a section entitled "Quick Years", the couple meet certain other adjusted persons who have adjusted to the "Great Disaster", as they call it, and a rudimentary "tribe", so-called, comes into being. A tight, fascinating study leaves the way clear for "The Year 22", the next chapter.
It is interesting to note how the members retain traditional taboos, remember dates and holidays, and yet slowly return to a hunter-gatherer society. Organized learning is a natural casualty, to be replaced by superstition. Obviously, the ability to conjugate verbs becomes surplusage at such a time.
The tribe learns to face disease, criminality, and tragedy. Religious tenets alter in each such society. One is left with the belief that man hasn't really learned very much by all of it. You learn that the most important thing to primitive man was the bow and arrow, and fire-making. Ish preserves these for future generations, along with a less credible democratic tradition. Even the language begins to change, as history marches on.
I won't spoil it by giving the ending, but you won't forget it, any more than you will forget any of the details of this incredibly well thought out, impeccably written book.
Even if, as with some reviewers, you cannot accept Stewart's approach or result, you will be forced to concede that, in addition to being a great storyteller, he is an incomparable, almost lyrical, wordsmith.
I hated to see the book end.

This is the 'end of the world as we know it' novel that all others are compared to. Even though it was written in the 1940's (copyright 1949) it is timeless, not aged at all, a great literary work.
It all starts when the main character, Ish, is bitten by a rattlesnake and laid up in a remote cabin, unconscious for an extended period of time, while, unknown to him, a plague destroys over 99% of the population. There begins a superb story of the trials and adventures of one man, and eventually a small group of people, as they battle nature and themselves, and attempt to re-establish civilization. This is one of those rare novels where characterization and plot and setting all mesh together into one beautifully written yarn, that after reading it, you will never forget it, it is that powerful. If there ever existed the proverbial page turner, this is it. Of course, being written in the 1940's no mention is made of personal computers, CD players, and the like, but if civilization was gone these most likely would be of little use anyway.
The philosophy and human interest angles contained in this book are well done. The scenes and descriptions of the demise of civilization and peoples' reactions to it, depicted by Stewart, seem very realistic. Your heart will be with the characters of this book when you read it.

I've gotta confess I was not very excited to read this book, having obtained on a bargain and postposed its reading for about a year, when I eventually got to it, I was absolutely blown away

the writting, althought not brilliant, is very polished and takes you throught the wonderful adventure of the end of mankind as we know it, throught the vast territory of a deserted united states, and tells us how it would slowly and rapidly decay in its various facets, until it would stand almost naked, a fertile ground for life anew

coming throught the plagues caused by the broken ecosystems and among the difficulties tapped by the human intervention we give for granted, it sets up a perfect place for the second half of the book, in which civilization begins again, necessarily different of how it came about in the first place, offering us exciting reflections on how we are and how we'd be, on values and life and growth, we age with the original characters, and by the time Ish is an old man we can see this new world throught the eyes af an old man, we understand and are subjected to the same hoplesness as him in the development of the new world, yet the hope of life, free of our cultural bagages and preconceptions, grows and leaves you a great aftertaste

an incredible novel, terribly underrated, which should be cherished and shared

It’s not sensational. It’s human and, to me, it’s sad to watch knowledge die. Others will likely write better reviews, but this book has stuck with me for a long time. One day I may add to my kindle when my ancient paperback can no longer hold together.

A horrible disease sweeps the planet in days, killing just about everyone. Isherwood Williams is for some reason spared from this plague, and finds himself a survivor in a barren society. The book follows the course of his life, and that of other survivors, as they live out their days in a new world.

My opinions ran wild with this book. For reason I will explain further along in the review, I started out very much enjoying the book, then my interest waned, and finally something clicked into place in my pea-sized brain, allowing me to finish the book on a strong note.

I found it very easy to step into the mind of Ish. He reacted in a way to his situation that I felt was very natural, while learning how to cope with life alone. I don't want to give much of the plot away, but roughly the first third of the book deals with Ish's life alone. Ish starts out as something of a loner and a worrier, and seems to adjust to the world...for a while. Soon, he becomes desperate for a purpose, and with that notion, sets out to find out "what happened".

Later, Ish struggles with his own weaknesses while trying to decide how to save the future. Through it all, Stewart keeps the characters consistant. I found it refreshing that he didn't try to thrust someone into the heroic role. For whatever reason, this earned him a good amount of credibility with me.

A note on the writing style; I believe this book was written in 1949, so the flow of the book seemed a little odd to me. Some of the conversations just didn't flow well, and I chalked that up to the age of the book. On the other hand, Stewart's timeline fit right in with the world we live in today, and did not really date the book. Except maybe for spraying DDT around like it was air freshener.

Around the middle of the book, I started to lose interest. I guess for me the story sort of bogged down with Ish trying, and consistantly failing, to get his people to try to focus on the finer things in life. As I said earlier, when things finally "clicked" for me, I found myself appreciating this part of the book more, as it fit in very well with who Ish was and what his purpose was.

The ending was just magnificant. I very much felt what Ish was feeling, and clearly saw that he had finally accepted that things were going to work out for his decendants, even if things didn't turn out exactly as he had planned. I can't stress enough how good of a job Stewart did with the ending.

This is not an action novel, and at points did become a bit too philosophical for it's own good. For me, it all came together at the end, but it might turn some people off. Also, as mentioned above, the writing style can seem a little strange, but overall this book shot far up my favorites list. This book easily get's five stars from me.

Possibly the first really outstanding science fiction novel produced in the USA, Earth Abides is the story of the pitiful remnant of humanity after a civilization ending catastrophe. Stewart's plot device is a highly virulent plague that kills all but a very, very few people. Population growth and catastrophic crash is a recurring theme. The book is the story of one survivor, a biology graduate student at Cal-Berkeley and is largely set in Berkeley. Stewart describes his hero's wanderings through an almost empty America and the gradual development of the tiny community of foragers he leads. The quality of writing is generally excellent and parts, such as the hero's tour of an empty New York City, are haunting. Much of the book is informed by Stewart's reading of ethnologic texts and a great deal of careful thought about what would happen to the natural world and landscape without humanity. This book was probably inspired by the post-WWII realization that our civilization could be ended by a nuclear holocaust but Stewart broadened this idea, exploited in a number of good books, to a more general examination of the consequences of the end of civilization.

Reading Earth Abides what struck me most was not the story, though this was certainly well told and presented, but how bravely the book took an unusual tack on its chosen topic: the survival factor of our civilisation and man himself when measured against geologic or cosmic time as represented by the planet Earth. Normally we are reasured that the embers of civilisation and man will never go out, and that we will always triumph as a species. Almost every film, book or play impresses this perception upon it's audience. And at first, as Isherwood works to rebuild, it seems Earth Abides will follow the same route. Then things start to change, and the reader begins to feel an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of their stomach; Isherwood's attempts start to fail, and the flickering ember of 20th century civilisation begins to dim. At the last, time takes its own course, and our ability to outlast even our own planet, never mind spread to the Universe as many SF books believe, is brought into question. And it is with this that the book triumphs. We are asked to question our entire society, and its true prospects for survival. One of the few books I've read that made me question the daily trip to the office, not from the point of view of myself, but my entire species, and to wonder what on Earth we are doing to ensure the real future of our species.

I first read this back in the 60's. Back then I got books to read from the library. In case you don't know that was where you got books to read in those days. LOL
I think this was the first book to address an apocalyptic event in this case a mysterious illness kills off much of the worlds population. I have reread the book three times and believe it's time to do so again.
Highly recommended as although Ish thought himself a failure in trying to preserve our civilization he at least kept civilization at a level that a lot of people would find more acceptable even today.

I was surprised how well "Earth Abides" held up as a post-apocalyptic novel being read in 2010, even though it was published in 1949 - over 60+ years ago. It was remarkably current, in my opinion. Yes, there were a few politically incorrect/outdated views on women, race and retardation - based on this day and age. But if you read it based on the reality of 1949, some of the ideas put forward by Stewart were actually ahead of his time.

This novel is not an action packed, shoot em up, zombies control the earth PA novel. It is a character study on how different people or small groups of people react or shut down in a disaster. And the way they act and react may not be what we would consider to be the best - for the individuals involved or for the salvation of mankind. But I can actually see the events in "Earth Abides" happening. Scary to think of but imaginable. This book stands the test of time.

This book was well-written. In terms of end of the world stories, its one of the classics.
However, it was written in the 1940s and not first published in 1976 as the Kindle store incorrectly states. The technology in this story is so dated, it sometimes seems more like a history book than a sci fi story. That said, the human side of the story is timeless, and as I said very well written.
It is not a thriller, end of the world novel..more akin to "the old man and the sea" than to a modern apocalypse novel.

I read this book about 15 years ago and had completely forgotten its name, but this book kept coming back to my mind over the years and I had to search and rediscover this book. What made this book to stay alive in my mind were my own thoughts and ideas that I have developed during the years about how civilizations grow and develop trends like religions, life styles etc.

The central character of this story, Ish was an ordinary man before the plague that wiped out the whole world. In the new civilization, he, oblivious to himself, started assuming the role of a leader. The civilization, against his own wishes, started looking up at him as their spiritual leader.

Most of the story is made up of his reflections and ambitions for the new civilization. He intended the new civilization to be based on the old one, taking advantage of the technological developments already in place. But, the civilization chooses to follow its natural progression and he found everyone around him to be very comfortable with the barbarian way of life.

It is a thought provoking book. Must read for anyone who is a thinker !

What can I write that others haven't yet...My relationship with this book began in my youth, when I read it for the first time in its Spanish version: "La Tierra Permanece". Years later I discovered the Italian translation and bought a copy: "La Terra sull'abisso". Later on, life brought me to London, when I finally bought the English original version. I read Earth Abides many more times since. A complete masterpiece: its realism is astounding on its simplicity. As some else worte, if a catastrophe strucks, not only almost superheroes would survive, but common people. It fascinatest me, as anthropologist, how well Stewart tell the tale of a transition from disaster through years of excavenging to a new type of society. When labour and play are sinonimous and paople can sit and observe, and do as needed rather than accumulate for the future. The tribal society of our origins returns, and hopefully human can stay there.

In sum, every time I watch the civilisation die, slowly reorganising, then born again as "we were", I feel as I'm Ish.

"Earth Abides" is a wonderful literary work. It's a shame that it's catalogued as a work of "science fiction" because it is so much more than that. I'm sure that many serious literary fans have failed to pick up on this teriffic book because of that "tag".
The book has a tremendous "hook" line - that being, "almost the entire human race is eradicated by a terrible catastrophe". The plot is very believable and amazing when you consider that the novel was written in 1949. Author George Stewart is a great storyteller and has created some very interesting characters. The hero of this book, "Ish", is both a "superman" and an "everyman". He is both the leader of his tribe, but also easily led. His development as a person and as the head of his people is a wonderful progression throughout the book. His wife, "Em" exhibits all the great characteristics of the strong woman behind the "great man". And, let me say that the symbolism of Ish's hammer was a very interesting facet of the book.
My only criticism (and it's a pretty minor one) is that the book did not go into enough detail regarding the disaster and how other people throughout the country were affected. I think that this would have added some rich "body" to the storyline.
All things considered though, this indeed is a book for the ages.
It belongs with some of the best works of that era, such as "The Lord of the Flies", "Catcher in the Rye", and later "To Kill a Mockingbird". As an educator, I would really urge school officials to add this novel to their list of great American Literary selections for high school students.
But, do yourself a favor - go to the library or your local bookstore get a copy of "Earth Abides" and delve into this great classic with its timeless message about the unshakeable human spirit!

Do you know the joyous feeling you get when you just happen upon a book quite by accident, read just a few chapters of it, and realize that it will be of great signifiance to you? Well, that was my experience with this book! I can't believe that I was not introduced to this book before now. It is with some sadness that I just completed reading it.
My degree of connection with the main character, Isherwood Williams (Ish), astounded me; therefore, I must admit that my reaction to this book is quite subjective. It as is though the author looked into my mind and wrote a book about me in a post-apocalyptic world, including my greatest virtues and worst vices. The descriptions of the thoughts, triumphs, failings, joys, and frustrations experienced by the main character are poignantly honest and real. Metaphorically, this story seems to describe, with regard to many things, my existence in this, our so-far non-apocalyptic, world. For example, I find that I constantly struggle to define what I think to be the appropriate balance of individuality and community/state in our world. If you are one who consciously ponders such things or pursues a study of philosophy, I believe that you will view this book as a masterpiece. It just made my top 10, that is sure.
I feel that I have gained much in my reading of this book. Mostly, I come away from this reading experience with a renewed feeling of peace and a reassurance in myself and the human spirit. I will no longer, I think, become quite so frustrated with regard to certain things or people in this world.
"Am I happy? Yes, I am happy. Things are as they are, and I am part of them." - Jack, great grandson of Isherwood Williams (Ish), the Last American.

This was a great book, but not an action-filled book. It is a book to generate ideas, not to get the adrenaline flowing. If it ever comes to a survival situation as posited in the book, life won't be glamorous. It will be mundane, a matter of getting food and having a dry place to sleep. Stewart gives us good reasons for why this is so.

I wrote the following this morning, trying to sort out why Ish is the leader for the group:

In reading the complaints of those who don't like Earth Abides, it seemed to me that many were disappointed that George R. Stewart did not create a group of super-humans to rebuild society. Why didn't they plan better? Why didn't they show more interest, more creativity? The author chose a group of ordinary people, who were used to living in a civilization doing everything for them, from providing their food, to thinking and planning.

One of the points that is frequently missed for those reading "Earth Abides" is the way humans behave. As long as their needs are taken care of, many people tend to let the rest of life come as it will. Making plans takes mental effort, and that is where only Ish has any experience. The energy to think ahead, and to make others see what is coming, that is what makes a leader great.

Ish is a scholar--he's well on the way to becoming a professor. That path makes him a professional thinker and ponderer and not a man of action. His career makes him one who watches from the sidelines without getting involved, and even if that were not the case, his personality pushes him in that direction. He is not a people person--he's a loner, uncomfortable in the company of others. He's a geek, more interested in privacy and private pursuits than in being a leader. Ish has half of the great leader equation; he has the energy to think ahead. What he lacks is the ability to convey what he sees to others.

When he thinks of himself as a leader by default, he is being realistic; of his band of seven adults, no other shows any sign of talent for leading. The one person in the group with strong social abilities, Ezra, defers to Ish. George is "dull," a man of craft who's job as plumber involves rushing to fix broken things; he is accustomed to reacting, not to making plans. George's wife's main concern is domestic tasks, and in this, she is a product of her age. Of Ezra's two wives, neither shows any signs of interest in planning for the group. Of all of the group, only Em leads when Ish cannot. Where he is the geek, timid and unable to marshal people, she is the one with backbone, who gets people moving when she sees a need. She lets Ish plan, perhaps, because she lives in the here and now, and only leads when she sees a clear cut need or threat in the immediate future. She doesn't worry about the future, because for the present, all the needs are taken care of.

This is the group that survived the Great Disaster in Berkeley; seven ordinary people, products of a country that has professional leaders, so that the people don't have to think.

There are also a number of complaints about the main character, Ish. People who disliked the book tended to write negative comments about him. In fairness, Ish is not a leader; he is a geek, one interested in private pursuits. He is introverted. Unfortunately for his social tastes, he is the sole person left in the Berkeley area who was accustomed to thinking and judging on a daily basis. This makes him the one who others turn to for ideas, the leader. As the leader, his decisions come out of his non-charismatic, introverted self. He is not a natural teacher (and in spite of this he is the only one to attempt to teach). These social weaknesses, however, are tied to his intellectual strengths. A different main character could have had different strengths, but then the reader would not have been treated to Ish's unique views as to what happened to the world after the fall of civilization.

About Ish's attitude: Reviewers have accused him of acting as if others are too emotional, too black)--I think these opinions about how Ish interacts with his world ignore Ish's nature. He isn't judgmental, he is professionally distanced. In a state resembling shock, he turns a scientific eye upon the world, as if the world means nothing to him. He's lost his country and family and everything but his life's work (which was ecologist, one studying the interactions of living things and environment). If he hides behind his life's work in a time of crisis and shock, he isn't the first. Journalists do this all the time. Work now, think about yourself later.

About the racist elements: Ish never really shows signs of being racist (but he was living in a racist society--segregation was the law of the land in 1949. And mixed marriages were illegal in many states). He is a product of that society. But in looking at the rural black people, his tone is almost admiration--THEY will survive when all the rest can't.

In 10th grade we read a story that dealt with the end of the world in our English class. I was intrigued. As i spoke again of this story a year later my 11th grade english teacher suggested that i read "Earth Abides". I shrugged off the suggestion being as though it was from my teacher (one of the lesser evils in my life) and it wasn't untill later that year when i found it on the library shelf that i finnally picked it up and began to read. I managed to rack up over 30 dollars in library fines because i litterally refused to return the book to its rightfull home. After reading it straight through three times in a row, I began to keep it under my pillow. I would pull it out at night and open it up and read randomly wherever the pages led me. Earth Abides may just be the most inspiring book I have ever read. I am now a Senior in Highschool. I since have bought a copy of Earth abides to replace the library's copy so that i could keep the copy that i had grown so close to. It is not so much the story or the people in it that i have attached myself to. The understanding of human nature and the way we react to crisis, and the way we move through life never ceases to amaze me. As I prepare myself to go into a career in Pyschology Stewart continues to be a constant inspiration in my search towards understanding of human behavior and human emotions. Also I am inspired as a writer. I can only dream that someday i will be able to write as well as Stewart. To be able to convey my thoughts or create and develope a character as well as he does would be beyond my imagination. Earth Abides leaves one person in awe and leaves them dying to read more but afraid to turn over the last page, for fear of ending the story. A wise person once said that finishing a good book is like losing a close friend. This holds true in Earth Abides. Whenever i read that last page my best friend dies with a simple punctuation mark. But as the book continues to remind us, Men go and come, BUT, earth abides.

This was by far the best book I've read in a long time, in terms of pure quality. Coming off a run of John Grisham books before it (and after, I'm reading another Grisham story now), it was amazing how different the quality of the story was, and how much more thought-provoking. Grisham tries for some philosophical stuff in his books, but didn't come close to what you find here.

The story itself was Ok...not fascinating alone, though surprising. A few things I certainly didn't expect to happen transpired. But what made it worthwhile was the "what if" factor. Imagine living through the apocalypse. Ponder the questions it raises:

- What would I do? Seek other people? Focus on survival? How to judge others, and how easily to settle in with them?

- How strong are the author's, and lead character's biases in the story? We get their perspective so strongly it's not clear sometimes what the reality is?

- What about Charlie? There's no way I'd make the same vote as the characters in the book - so I think. But if I had lived as they had for 22 years, would that change my opinion? How can I know? (answer to that last question - I can't).

Is there some deeper answer in the book about what the meaning of life really is? If we strip everything we have today away, we go back to a more primal state where the search for food, water, shelter and safety are paramount in our minds. So how much of what we experience now is a product of civilization and society, rather than our true nature? The memorable line which was something like (I don't have the book for a direct quote) "I'm happy. Things are as they are and I'm a part of them." says a lot doesn't it? Goes back to Buddhist philosophy really - focus on the present. When there's no guarantee of the next meal, when there's no shelter because a fire can burn it all down, when wild animals lurk, how much time do we have to ponder, to worry, to debate? And does that make us happier - meeting our primal drive to just...be?

I'd highly recommend this book, my "top" recommendation whatever that means. It covers ecology, philosophy, sociaology and so much more...

I waited almost two years to read it. It's a shame I waited that long.

EARTH ABIDES by George R. Stewart is one of many books that take as its theme the destruction of mankind, leaving the Last Man on Earth as a narrator. THE PURPLE CLOUD by M.P. Sheil did much the same but Sheil's book was marred by excessive racism. Stewart's book is saved not only by the logical working out of the plot by its narrator-survivor, Isherwood, but also by Stewart's clever though subtle use of using Isherwood's slowly failing senses over many decades of post-apocalyptic adventures as a metaphor for the slow destruction of the American ideal of life.
As the novel opens, the reader is told that the United States has been hit by a super-plague that has spread with lightning rapidity with near one hundred percent fatality. Ish, one of the very few survivors, passes by a abandoned car on the San Francisco bridge. This car is registered to a James P Robson of Oregon. This seemingly innocuous narration is later seen as the central metaphor of the book. Years later, Ish has several opportunities to pass the car in and out of San Francisco. Each time he does so, the car becomes somehow less distinct, a fuzziness that resonates first in his mind, then in the reader's mind. As the decades pass, Ish meets isolated pockets of survivors who have forgotten their American heritage. To these barbaric Mad Max types, Ish is the Last of the Americans. They tease him, they pinch him, they see him as a failed god type who could not deliver on the promises of the fabled technology of their legends. By the novel's end, he sees them pinching him, but he cannot feel them doing so. His senses have failed him just as America's technology had earlier failed to protect its population from the plague. Just before his death, Ish remembers the car on the bridge. Was it red? blue? green? Owned by Robson? Robinson? Robertson? He does not remember. But he feels sure that America has died, its technology has long since died, but its people live on, possibly learning from the mistakes of their predecessors, or maybe not. Stewart concludes his otherwise depressing work with a hint of optimism: "Man may come and go, but earth abides."

George Stewart's super-classic is my favorite SciFi sub-genre--the demise of man by one means or another. Stewart uses a pandemic virus which is a bit cliche--oops, wait a minute, he did it first! Everyone _else_ is the cliche. His writing is dark and literary, brought to life by his protagonist, Isherwood Williams', gloomy, introspective personality. Stewart does not develop the science behind the virus, but given that he wrote the story in 1947, I suppose he can be forgiven. On the other hand, H.G. Wells and Jules Verne forcast many technological wonders in their stories, so maybe Stewart could have gone out on a creative limb just a wee bit more than he did. Nevertheless, the real gem of the story is Stewart's portrayal of the demise of mankind--not the virus that reduced his population to a handful--but the demise of his culture, his literature, his creative energy. It seems we humans are what we are because with great numbers of people scarfing up every last spot of ground and every last resource, each individual has to be ever on his toes just to turn a buck. Take away the people, say, overnight, and the detritus of their civilization becomes easy pickings for the surviving few. No need to grow anything to eat--just open up a can. When they ran out of cans, it was almost as easy to hunt for dim-witted, slow-footed domestic cattle, now living in the wild. But the real casualty was culture. Several generations after Ish, people no longer spoke Ish's English, at least not so he could understand it. Culture too appears to be a product of crowds. Stewart set the bar for this SciFi sub-genre. There have been many since 1949, including my own example listed below, but he has yet to be equalled.

--Ejner Fulsang, author of "A Destiny of Fools", [...] 2007

This is a thought provoking book aboutwhat our civilization would be like after an apocalypse. I was 6 years old when the book was published.
I've lived through many changes. The ideas expressed by the author are still revelevant. I highly recommend it for everyone of all ages.

"Earth Abides" deals with the collapse of society after a plague has killed nearly everyone in the world. Isherwood (Ish) Williams was in the mountains when this happened, so he was spared the trauma of seeing everyone die around him.
"Earth Abides" is probably one of the more realistic apocalypse books. A plague is tidier and more envionmentally friendly than a nuclear holocaust so the world was quite lucky. The survivors who band together are just ordinary people. No military strategists, scientific experts or specialists. No engineers or architects. They have to cope with life in a world without medical services, police, government, or farmers.
Over the years, 20th century life is slipping away and Ish's tribe can't bring any of it back. Decades later San Francisco is a jungle and Ish is the last of the old race. The new race are illiterate hunters but they are also a more decent people. They treat the animals as equals, they are happier and have none of the hangups that affected 20th century society before the plague. They'll never know how to split the atom, build missiles, or damage the ozone layer.
Because history tends to go round in circles I don't think civilization really died after the plague. It just went to sleep. One day it will come back, maybe in a few centuries. Something new and better. A rejuvinated world, fresh and clean.
"Earth Abides" was a good book. It probably wouldn't work as a movie, though. Not after the criticism that "The Postman" got. But I thought Kevin Bacon would be good as Ish. I'm not sure who would play the other characters.

Earth Abides is not a typical post-apocalyptic novel. It doesn't present a world of mutants, giant cockroaches or bands of marauders. It simply shows the slow and inevitable decay of man and all his works, in the teeth of attempts by the protagonist to restore the old ways of civilization. In that it succeeds beautifully and shows us the grandeur of our world and the majesty of what we have wrought...then compares it to the greater majesty of nature and the eternal gaze of time. The novel works best as a family drama, more Swiss Family Robinson than Mad Max, and has no sensational adventures to offer other than the daily tribulations of life. For man may be a great creature, but he is still small and the world doesn't really need him at all...

Earth Abides is the most meditative and serene post-apocalyptic novel I've ever read, and it's recommended for more thoughtful readers who won't be easily bored.

Written in 1948, I believe, this is a fascinating book I'm going to classify (at least for the time it was written) as science fiction.

Earth is ravaged by a plague that wipes out all but a select few survivors. This book details how the survivors live and build a society. It is very well thought out, and a fascinating read. I don't agree with all of the author's postulations, but overall it's a great work. Very impressive for today, prescient even, especially considering it was written nearly 70 years ago.

This book has been torpedoed by some readers because it isn't "The Stand." While "the Stand," is one of my favorite books, what happens after the world is wiped out by plague becomes highly supernatural. Much as I like that, Stewart shows a much more realistic side of what would happen to whatever few survivors this world might have if a plague took most of us out of circulation. Any possible community would be small, and battle dogs, ants, rats, diseases, and the like. The characters here are never to be forgotten--Ish, Em, Joey and Charlie above all, and the plot stays with you long after the book is finished. I read it in the '80s when I worked on a book assembly line. Imagine my delight that it is now available again. This is up there with "Alas Babylon," and just a bit less depressing than "On the Beach."

'Earth Abides' is a classic novel of the end of human civilization and it's rebirth. Unlike other apocalyptic sci-fi fantasy novels in the mold of Mad Max, there are no weapon wielding skin headed cannibals roaming the wasteland. In fact the only violence in this novel is an encounter with a pack of wild dogs and the heart rendering decision the community makes to deal with one of the human survivors. In light of recent research exemplified by books such as 'The World Without Us', 'Earth Abides' is astonishing prophetic and knowledgeable. You might say that this novel is an environmentalist's apocalyptic novel 50 years ahead of its time. The novelist's understanding of modern ecology is amazing considering when it was written. The theme of the novel is stated in the title. Human civilization may disappear but earth will abide. A modern classic that should not be missed.

Stewart's novel begins with a science fiction premised used by Stephen King in The Stand -- a virus quickly wipes out most of the world's population -- but from that point on, the two books (and others that have used this idea) are completely dissimilar. Stewart has little interest in the plague itself, and it is covered in a short part of the book. Rather, his interest is in how people react to being deprived of modern civilization. For years, his characters try to keep things going by teaching their children to read, and keeping memories of the old world alive. However, the drastically changed circumstances of their children's lives make this impossible, and the small group of survivors descend to a hunter-gatherer civilization.
Stewart also addresses the question of what would ordinary people do who find themselves deprived of the protections of the law, and thus having to make their own difficult choices.
Those who read this book expecting a typical science fiction novel will be disappointed. Stewart uses science fiction themes to explore significant issues in much the same way that George Orwell did in 1984. An excellent novel.

This was one of the early end of the world novels where the survivors try to restart society. Though there is a lot of scientific inaccuracies, what makes this book great are the characters. If you liked Stephen King's The Stand which also had great characters, then you should like this one.
The main character is Ish. Ish seems to be someone that we all strive to be. Caring and smart. Ish also, has the son that we all wish our children would be like. Ish's son is the smartest of all the children and he simply idolizes Ish.
Ish uses a hammer (a basic, I guess Stanely model) as his symbol of power (or his sceptre) over the survivors. Undoubtedly, the hammer is to pass to Ish's son when Ish dies.
The big project for the survivors is to get an old automobilie repaired enough to explore other lands and try to find other bands of survivors and get civilization back on its feet. I don't want to give the rest of the plot away only to say that this project turns out to be a big mistake.

The premise of this novel is that mankind suddenly experiences a biological holocaust in the form of a new disease--a form of super-measles that wipes out all but a tiny remnant of mankind. The author explains that "mankind had too long been rolling an endless succession of sevens" and that like all animals that had multiplied out of turn, the sudden catastrophe was inevitable to set the balance back to what nature intended. This novel tells the story of a very small group of survivors, and suggests what life would be like under in the aftermath, and perhaps, more profoundly, what such a scenario might mean for mankind.
The author's premise is that little or nothing of civilization would survive such an event. In the story **very minor spoiler** although the survivors make attempts at preserving the skills and lessons of civilization, this eventually becomes impossible against the tide of events sweeping mankind back not just to barbarism (in which some skills and beliefs might have survived) but to downright savagery and superstition. The most profound thought that the author successfully imparts is that all of the traditions, skills, and manifestations of our civilization could--and would--be lost in a single generation. Unforgettable is when one of the characters in the story looks out at the ruins of the San Francisco Bay Bridge (before it too passes away) and asks--"who built this." The protagonist thinks for a second and answers: "the Americans built it." The next question is "who were the Americans?" I have never forgotten this exchange, which I felt illustrated brilliantly how important it is for one generation to impart the best ideas of civilization to the next, and how easily all our achievements and successes might be lost in the face of a global catastrophe.
The reader need not and probably will not agree with all of the author's conclusions about what would happen in this scenario. Would we really lose the skill of a written language? Would we really fall all the way back almost to the Old Stone Age? The author will challenge the reader's own thoughts on this subject, and that is fine. One need not agree with all of the conclusions that the novel contains to enjoy this story.
Although written many years ago, upon re-reading this novel recently I found that it had lost little or none of its impact or relevance. It features a bit more prudishness than a modern novel might contain, but in my opinion is none the worse for this. The story is well-told, the prose is quite good, and the storyline moves along all the while capturing and retaining the reader's interest. This is a novel that I would recommend to everyone.

Oh thank the gods this book is over! What an annoying and frustrating trip through some terrible writing. Part of me wants to tear it apart piece by piece but there's SO much I didn't like it would take forever...

There's a plague and the great majority of humanity succumbs. A few survive. One is Isherwood Williams, Ish to his inferiors... I mean friends... no, inferiors. Ish is a judgmental bastard who finds every survivor he encounters inferior and wanting. Except Joey, who of course is Ish's son. Only Ish has the genes to produce intelligent offspring.

After traveling coast to coast and back and somehow not encountering masses of rotting corpses Ish settles in at his childhood home above San Francisco. When the book starts to get boring. Well, more boring, and Ish gets lonely, Ish finds a woman. Of course they fall in love. The author doesn't ever come out and say she's black because, well, this was written in the 1940's.

They gather together around them a small community living off the dregs of a dead society. Bad things happen but they're never that bad and they never happen at the same time.

I've got to stop soon or I'll end up writing a novel to review a novel...

In the story it takes the survivors EIGHTEEN years to realize they might, maybe, want to teach the children they've been having how to read and do basic math. Of course it's too late and because they're all mental inferiors compared to Ish the idea fails.

Canned goods apparently in the 40s were amazing. They last decades. Thirty plus years after the plague ravaged the planet they're still eating canned food they find in the ruins.

Ugh, I just cannot express all the things I found weird, wrong or just plain unbelievable in this story. I have no idea how it won the awards it did.

If you want a decent end of the world scenario I recommend Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Even Stephen King's The Stand was a better end of the world tale

Many reviewers here expected something different, I think. They are dismayed.

They have all the elements properly arranged but do not see how they add up. Ishi characterizes himself as intelligent and the others as inferior to him in cognitive ability, yet he fails in almost all his undertakings.

At the first sign of trouble he goes home and sleeps in his boyhood bedroom, then returns there and takes up a permanent residence in the old home place -- this infantile reversion is culture-shock but he can't see it. He is supposedly trained in ecology but is taken by surprise every time the local ecology adjusts itself to mankind's absence -- this emphasizes the futility of a college education in a survival situation. He carries a prejudice against negroes yet marries a mulatto and doesn't even realize it at first -- his blindness extends deeply within him. He tries to educate the youngsters but cannot hold their interest -- he is too disconnected from their reality. He has in front of him all the ingredients for success -- yet fails on his own terms, which are unreal.

And yet, he does succeed, doesn't he? In spite of himself he does manage to attract a group which survives and stays together. Gradually over the course of his life he becomes ever-farther removed from reality, while the children take over the lead. They develop the skills they need to live in the new world almost while Ishi is not looking -- they become "wild Indians" wearing skins and shooting arrows.

In short, Ishi is sort of the Dagwood of survivalists. Arnold Schwartzenegger would not star in the film version. Despite his shortcomings and failures, life actually does go on. In fact he is a lot like you and me. How well do we know ourselves? How well do our everyday decisions turn out? Once Ishi says to heck with it and lets things slide, things get better just like in real life.

Stewart's genius was to place these things before us and then get out of the way. He has placed hints in the text, the italicized passages which give us objective truth, sandwiched between Ishi's misadventures. What he is saying is, in despite of ourselves, Earth Abides.

Note: Ishi was the name given to the last member of a tribe of California Indians, the Yahi. In 1911 he was brought in by white society and nursed back to health by the Kroebers, with whom he lived. The Kroebers were a university couple, anthropologists. Their daughter Ursula was born in 1929 and grew up with Ishi in the house. Ursula's married name is LeGuin; she has won many awards for her science fiction. (Google 'Ishi' and see.)

Ishi also is the short form of Ishmael, a name for the Wandering Jew of legend; Melville's "Moby Dick" begins with the sentence, "Call me Ishmael."

If you enjoy the subject, try Walter Miller's "Canticle for Leibowitz", or Clifford Simak's "City" or David Brin's "The Postman."

Dave

Maybe today the plot of "Earth abides" is nothing new, but when it was written, in 1949, it surely was. Professor Stewart's only book in science-fiction quickly turned into a milestone concerning apocalyptic themes. William Brinkley's "The last ship", Pat Frank's "Alas, Babylon", Nevil Shute's "On the beach" and Stephen King's "The stand" all come to mind as having similar ideas, although each of the five books mentioned have their own characteristics and deal with the subject of "end of human civilization" in unique ways.

"Earth abides" is more like a one-man chronicle. Isherwood Williams, a reclusive geology student, finds himself a survivor of an unnamed "Great Disaster" that has wiped out 99% of humankind. During the course of the book, Stewart tells the reader how Ish, as he calls his main character, learned to live again, without all the comforts of civilization, forming a new family, than a new community. Ish thinks of himself as "the last american", and Stewart explains very well why that is so.

Although not overtly a "dark" science-fiction story - like "On the beach", for example -, "Earth abides" has a subtle way of making the reader very uneasy and impotent as he turns the pages. This book was written almost sixty years ago, but has a very modern feeling about it - not scientifically, of course, but if we think about how Man deal with his peers and with nature, Stewart's book will ring some known bells.

Grade 8.7/10

The book is well written and easy to read but tends to drag on a bit. The main character, whose perspective you follow throughout the book, aggravates with his self-importance and high-mindedness. But, the book itself is interesting and the detail that the author uses to take you through the phases of civilization's collapse is mind-blowing. A must-read for fans of the dysopia genre.

Book club chomped down on it but needed a little extended time to get through the whole thing. The discussion afterwards filled almost three hours!

This post apocalyptic book starts off strong with somewhat of a new twist on the traditional post-collapse civilization, as told by one graduate student and his struggle with a life after modern conveniences are gone. He is an observer kept alive as the second wave of deaths wash over the world by a mere need to observe and discover. I'll never forget reading as if with him while he waited for electric power to finally fail. The lights dim slightly and with this realization he waits up as a long time friend passes into oblivion. Several of the concepts are quite dated (the copy I read was re-released in the 70s but still referred to household items long since out of date and probably belonged in the original publication from '49).

The main character is faced as being the only intellectual left in a small band of survivors he later deems "The Tribe." This is the placement of the majority of the book and faces the questions of what humans would do with so much time on their hands? How they would adapt to a life with everything they need laying about them, but no deadlines to push them to reestablish a civilized world? It also conicals several things other books leave out, such as the adoption of odd superstitions about "Americans" by children who have never known a life with organized government or life outside of their small Tribe. I would give this part of the book a higher score, but the later portion fell short of my expectations and the standards set by the rest of the work.

As the book continued it became quite redundant and predictable, and though I had high hopes the book would somehow redeem itself and return to it's previous glory, I was left disappointed. If you are looking for a book with a strong resolution upon completion, this is not a book for you. While I am glad I finished it (the first half was quite good), and several major problems were resolved, a larger picture of what would happen with the passing of the main character was left unsaid (though a general idea was obvious and alluded to several times). This portion of the book brought down the overall rating I could give.

I would recommend this book as an easy read with an interesting take on the traditional end-of-the-world concept.

A very original and unique plot, particularly given that it was written in 1949, makes this book a great read and not to be missed for fans of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi genre. Most every book since written in this genre borrows elements from this book. The pace of the story moves well and there are many sub-plots which are interesting (in particular, the main character makes frequent introspective observations that are thought-provoking about humankind). Of particular note is how relevant the book is today, over 60 years after it was written.

My main negative critique is the general prose and writing style. It is impossible to believe that the author was an English professor... very basic sentence structures, little in the way of character development, and a ridiculous over-usage of exclamatory statements from the novel's characters (literally hundreds of exclamation marks throughout the book). The Kindle version had a number of typos as well.

Still a worthy four-star book given its deep and compelling observations on humankind and a very clever and original plot.

This book was written 60 years ago but for the most part is current for today. Can you imagine being one of the last survivors on earth?

The narrator was excellent and the story is at times sad and other times hopeful.

The only things I cringed at were the fact that the survivors still were eating canned goods and medicine that was over 20 years old. Obviously the author didn't realize that they would degrade.

This was one of my first listens and made me want to join the club for ever!

In this profound ecological fable, a mysterious plague has destroyed the vast majority of the human race. Isherwood Williams, one of the few survivors, returns from a wilderness field trip to discover that civilization has vanished during his absence. Eventually he returns to San Francisco and encounters a female survivor who becomes his wife. Around them and their children a small community develops, living like their pioneer ancestors and gradually returning to a simpler way of life. It may seem odd to say that a book in which the majority of the world's inhabitants die is life-affirming and spiritual, but I'm going to say it anyway. I have read this book again and again over the years, and each time I come away from it with a deep feeling of peacefulness and confidence in the power of Mother Earth.

While doing research in a remote cabin, Isherwood Williams is bitten by a rattlesnake. Emerging from a short delirium, Ish returns to civilization only to find that a new virus has wiped out 99.9% of the Earth's population. Ish sets out to see if he can find any survivors.
The story is told in an irregular fashion, slowly detailing Ish's immediate experiences, then speeding into the future only to slow again for years that are more important. I enjoyed the haphazard narrative, but wished that the author had focused more detail during several essential emotional scenes regarding birth and death.
The focus of the story revolves around Ish's struggle to preserve the American society against superstitions that threaten to govern the new society. The author touches on many of the possible earth changes that might happen in such a catastrophe. Some systems immediately fail while some last for many years. Fans of Stephen Kings "The Stand" will enjoy this similar, yet simpler tale.

Every fan of post-apocalyptic stories has his own reason for following the genre. Mine is, that I like to see what the author considers most important to life in this world. When civilization and human society collapse; when food, medicine, and basic comforts become scarce; when friends are few and family is imperiled, what values will prevail? Most of the classic novels of calamity portray survivors determined to carry on, forming communities which are insular and self-reliant; learning and developing the skills and collecting the resources essential to living in a new world. Earth Abides paints a somewhat different picture.

Ish is much like the heroes of the other popular disaster stories, in that he is determined to carry on; and to recover, as much as possible, the advances of civilization which are in danger of disappearing with the loss of most of the human race. Ish finds himself the head of a community and extended family; and though he is strong, educated, and resourceful, he finds nothing but frustration in his efforts to pass on his values to the next generation. His children and grandchildren have little desire to produce goods for themselves, having become dependent on the things left behind by those who died from the plague. He is unable to inspire them with his vision for keeping the great accomplishments of humanity alive.

Something unique about this story is the occasional vignette describing what happens to the world around Ish, now that the human race has essentially become an endangered species. If you've ever watched the History Channel's "Life After People", you'll get a sense of that here - and see how these things directly affect Ish and the other survivors.

I'm discovering that those classic novels which I can read many times throughout my life, and which say something new to me each time (see my reviews of "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451"), are those in which I recognize the signs of true works of genius. This is only my first time reading "Earth Abides", but I already wonder what it will say to me in five years, or ten, as I raise my children, or lead kids in my community, and try to impart my own values and experience to them. Will I be able to pass on those things they need to survive, or will I find myself, like Ish, disappointed, or having to realign my expectations?

An engaging read, with all the hallmarks of a true classic.

Great title, great cover, but that's where the praise ends. Got 14% of the way through it. Published in 1949. Very unengaging and stilted. The main character is utterly irrational, and nasty to boot. I simply cannot warm to him. And the reactions of the few survivors he meets are ridiculous. And it's just boring to boot.

At the beginning of Earth Abides, Isherwood Williams, a graduate student alone in the wilderness and working on his thesis, is bitten by a poisonous snake. For several days, he drifts in and out of consciousness. When he is at last able to drag himself to civilization, he finds that a virus not unlike the common flu has mutated into a deadly strain, and the world is suddenly devoid of people. The rest of the book follows Isherwood as he discovers the strange freedom of the empty world, struggles to find other survivors, and works to rebuild civilization.

Earth Abides is a sweeping saga, stretching across decades and roaming across North America. Most of the story takes place from inside the head of its protagonist, at a range so close that it takes us several pages to learn his name, as he simply does not think of his name that often. Stewart infuses the story with concrete details and scientific observations, giving it a strong sense of authenticity. Caught up in and believing the action, we are completely absorbed in the efforts of Isherwood Williams to survive and thrive in this strange new world.

One trap lurking for any story, but particularly a science fiction story like this, is that of becoming quickly dated. Things change daily, and what is fascinating and new today will soon be old fashioned. Stewart has given his story a certain timelessness, at least so far, and I think he achieves this effect by incorporating very little medium-range technology. By this I mean that things are either seen close up, as in hands working with tools that change slowly, such as hammers, or are seen at a distance, such as the lights of San Francisco. In the middle distance, very little attention is paid to devices that evolve quickly, such as televisions, radios, and automobiles (other than the venerable Jeep). The result is that Earth Abides does not suffer from a feeling of being out of date, and it could easily be imagined to be a present-day story.

One interesting feature to me as a writer was the use of interstitial chapters called Quick Years between each of the three major sections. These bridge the time gaps between the primary sections of the book, recalling the primary events in the passing years through Isherwood's eyes. This device lets the author tell a sweeping story while keeping the bulk of the detail in the activity at the turning points. On first glance, this sudden shift in gears seems likely to distance the reader, but Stewart handles the narrative so deftly that the reader finds the story as engaging viewed at this speed as when it is slowed down.

Ultimately, Earth Abides is a masterful work. The author gives us enough detail and character to connect deeply with the story, then stays out of the way, allowing the story to unfold with its own power. The result is a riveting and deeply moving tale about all of us, how strong and resilient we are, but also about how fragile we are, how tenuous our grip on the world is, and how little it needs us.

Do not miss this story. But do not, however, try to finish it without a generous supply of tissues. You will need them.

Earth Abides is a fantastic book. When I noticed it was written in 1949 I was a bit concerned, but it was not dated at all. The simple synopsis of the story is that everyone on the planet dies in a plague, except for a few hundred people. The story follows Ish, who was a ecologist or something and is now forced into the role of designing plans for rebuilding civilization. Along with a few others he meets and adds to his community, the book follows Ish's "tribe" for about 60 years. During that time the human build infrastructure deteriorates along with Ish's hopes of quickly restoring an active civilization. I would like to especially credit Stewart for including two long chapters he calls "Quick Years", where he moves ahead 10 or 20 years. A less confident author would fill that 20 years with the same nonsense over and over making this a much slower and longer book.

I am a huge fan of after times type novels. This book is one of the best I have ever read on the subject. It give hope and a sense of joy to think that after civilizations ends there will still be a few that will survive.
To think this was written in the fifties is even better yet. I was raised in the S. F. Bay Area "Alameda" during this time. This was a bit of nostalgia for me to read about. It is very well written an a fun read.

If they did an audiotape of "Earth Abides", only Ben Stein would be up to the task of delivering the text into spoken words. The novel wastes no time getting into its subject matter. Within the opening pages, an unknown plague wipes out the vast majority of humanity, leaving the remnants to either rebuild civilization or bear witness to its final collapse. It sounds promising, but the delivery never comes.
The story is narrated in the first person by "Ish", a young college student whose circumstances enable him to survive the disaster. Very early on, the reader gets the first inklings that this novel will serve as a sounding board for George Stewart's various preoccupations. The first hint is the dominant theme that nature has some innate sense of population control that strikes suddenly and absolutely on all levels, and this is explored not just in discovering what happened to humanity but also in a number of situations as the story advances.
In fact, Ish seems to be merely a mouthpiece for a number of observations, ideas, and insights postulated by Stewart. For a work of fiction, "Earth Abides" reads more like an apocalyptic version of "Future Shock", the landmark Alvin Toffler sociological study. Unfortunately, it reads as dryly as "Future Shock" as well. All of Stewart's ideas are presented in a dry, impersonal manner, which precludes any emotional connection with the story itself and thus lessens the impact of these insights in the end. Recommended only for the most voracious of sci-fi readers.

Several reviews have noted what they call the essential pessimism of the book: Man Has Fallen, Civilization Is No More, etc. Well, yes, that is all there. But what is also there is a profound triumph of the human spirit: Civilization is Dead - Long Live Civilization. I will NOT spoil the ending, but book ends with a rebirth - an obvious societal pregnancy if you will - of a new civilization, one profoundly in keeping with the new conditions of their brave renewed world.

One can imagine a sequel, and I wish Stewart ahd written one!

I first read this book almost 50 years ago, and have re-read it multiple times. It is one of the best "transition" books ever written. I recommend it on several levels.

George Stewart's "Earth Abides" is a tale of the end of the world by way of a plague that handles the subject in a way much different that similar tales. More thoughtful, deliberate and slow than I expected. More than anything it is a look at how man's conquering of mother nature is temporary at best. Take away man, and the Earth's memory of man will be soon forgotten. At the same time, it deals with civilization - what are the fundamentals of civilization, what keeps people together, and what prompted the creation of tribes, religion, superstition, and war.

Without question, I enjoyed this a lot. One of the better takes on a post-apocalyptic scenario I have read to date. No Mad Max BS, no metaphysical The Stand mumbo jumbo, no b-grade nonsense ala The Postman, just pure introspection regarding how mankind would move on, and more importantly, how the Earth would move along as if we were never there

Mandatory reading.

Despite the quality of Stewart's writing, which is elegaic at its best and readable at its worst, this is a very creaky and dated work. Certainly, you have to make some allowances for the culture and time in which books are written, but like John Wyndham, Stewart seems handicapped by an assumption of the rightness of bourgeois values, especially when it comes to women. The book does address this, and in some ways is all about the struggle to maintain these values in a world where they are making less and less sense. But, you get the feeling that, in terms of sociopolitical change (as opposed to the obvious physical change - the old infrastructure has been destroyed), it's a case of 'apocalypse? what apocalypse?'. Stewart's characters are like Hollywood western stereotypes - the men are either upright patriachs or shifty loners; the women are wives and daughters who appear strong but are really just there for breeding and cooking. There are works which do tackle the obvious questions of the use of social roles in a society totally different from that which created them, most notably the vastly under-rated New Zealand film, The Quiet Earth (if I've remembered the name right). Read Stewart by all means: it isn't a bad book, but it isn't the classic it's built up to be.

I read this book 35 years ago while in junior high. It captivated me. I pondered (as only an adolescent can) what I would do if I were Ish. What would I do if I came home from a trip into the mountains and found the world dead of a plague. How would I respond? What would I do? How would I survive? How would I cope?

I read it again when I was in high school and the same musing returned. I found it in my box of "things" several years later when I was 23, after I was married. I sat down that afternoon and read the entire book. Again it affected me - but in a different, more mature way. After I had children, I gave it to my daughter to read when she was 16. She found it to be a very fascinating read on the sociological impact on man of a devastating plague which leaves only a few scattered survivors. I have lent my copy to several people over the years and everyone who reads it finds the book to create emotion and ponder what they would do in such a situation.

The mystery and appeal of the book lies in the writer placing the reader into the conscience of the main character named Isherwood "Ish" Williams. There are several undertones within the book - one of which is the role of the reluctant leader, the second the "sacramental" image of the hammer. It also shows the tendancy of man to desire religion.

This book review, I hope, motivates someone to read a book that they may not have read by simply looking at the cover. You will be mesmerized by this well written classic... I guarantee! (I have been mesmerized by it 5 times now in the past 35 years)

Stewart's books was perfectly creepy and emotional. I identified with the protagonist greatly, and do not feel he was too passive or overly-cerebral. Truth be known, in the few crises I have known, I've often reacted much like him. Okay, I'm a little more attached to things than he is, but I feel this is a plot contrivance to allow the story to go forward.
Having read and re-read "The Stand" quite a few times now, I was struck by Stewart's decision (1) not to gather large groups together, (2) not to restart civilization (e.g., electricity, running water, et al), and (3) to cover such a large span of time. "The Stand" covers perhaps up to a year after a plague wipes out 99% of the human race. This book covers over a half-dozen decades. I feel that all three of these decisions demonstrated a far more likely result than King's use of dreams as a "deus ex machina" to gather persons into two camps for the "final conflict" between good and evil.
Born in 1976, I am only now becoming aware of these post-apocalyptic classics. I have now finished "On the Beach" by Nevil Shute, "Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank, and of course this one. The first two dealt with the all-too-real Nuclear Nightmare that even I experienced (though all those younger than me can't even remember there being a USSR). Shute's book was "a stern warning of things to come" and "Alas, Babylon" was more of a man vs. nature story.
But this one, it dealt with the nightmare that first captivated me in "The Stand" - a world decimated by plague, leaving the infrastructure intact. While Stewart did not pick up the thread the way I wish he had - that is, some form of civilization being preserved, rather than yet another "Time Machine"-style primitive culture that barely recalls our culture. However, Stewart does spend a great amount of time talking about the decay of this world, and that fascinated me. Storm drains clogging, water seeping into houses and rotting the carpets, termites collapsing houses over the work of decades, dust settling into the corners of the Golden Gate Bridge and grass growing there, and the work of rain and frost on the Northeast roads. All of this riveted me.
My biggest complaints are mostly minor, such as (1) how could running water go on for 20 years? (2) why did it take so long for the electricity to run out, and the biggest one (3) why were there no signs of panic (e.g., looting, riots, massive traffic jams as swarms of panicked people ran about in civilization's death throes, et al).
My biggest gripe, however, is spiritual. Nobody in this book, even former churchgoers and clergy, feel any need to reach out to God. Admittedly, I'm biased, being a Christian, Biblical scholar, and future University prof. But I am a rational being, and I feel a rational argument can be made for the spiritual side of man, a characteristic that even the protagonist recognizes, even if he can't properly articulate, let alone address, this "God-shaped hole" in each of us.
Now, I realize that science fiction, even more than other genres, allow us to paint on a blanked canvas (the devastated world) our worldviews on such things as man's innate goodness or evil, the necessity or redundancy of God (e.g., church, Scriptures, etc.), the expression of our social nature, the necessity (or redundancy) of modern technologically-dependent society, and so forth. I understand that we're not all going to agree; I don't feel it's my job to insist on homogeneity amongs everyone. However, if I wrote a book along these lines, I would make sure to include atheists, skeptics and agnostics, along with members of other religions (at varying degrees of dedication) along with those persons I feel "make sense" from my perspective. While by no means do I feel "all religions lead to God" or that "you just need to be sincere," I do agree that any description of a post-apocalyptic (or any other) reality, in order to be fair to the multiplicity of human thought and experience, must recognize that "it takes all kinds."
That said, I did find myself chilled by the spiritual apathy evidenced, among other things, by the community's perception of "Evie," the mentally-challenged pariah. "We don't want no idiot children ruining the gene pool" the protagonist declared in some fashion on numerous occasions. While I may see, in a survival-based world, the necessity of taking precautions, I did feel that the cold and unfeeling attitude ("should we have even let her live?" Ish asks himself repeatedly) was frightfully inhumane. There is no "all are created equal" here, no "all are God's children" here. While I understand expediency, I do not feel it must be carried out heartlessly.
However, apart from this one real gripe, I truly do recommend this book to anyone interested by such things, like me. After borrowing this book from a library (copies are hard to find!) I've decided to buy it. I suppose that's the best recommendation I can give...

The Good: This was an unbelievably realistic portrayal of an post-apocalyptic world. Major and minor details considered and covered in an entertaining and satisfying fashion. The scope of this novel was extremely impressive. Moreso, that this novel was written 65 years ago and is so perfectly relatable to what we could imagine a post-diseased world in our own future.

The Bad: The book drags a little and is heavy on the detail. Some portions are hard to make yourself muddle through.

I did not notice the year until the second reading. The story plays out today as well as it did in the forties.
Profound and thought inspiring. My wife is a lit major and had little experience with SF. This book opened a new world for her. It is unfortunate more of Stewart's work is not available.
I was originally intrigued by the location. San Lupo Drive is San Luis Drive in the hills of Berkeley, CA. The rocks are Indian Rock Park. Everthing fits. Stewart talks of walking down to to a shopping district, Solano Avenue.
The cleanliness of society's destruction was an interseting twist. No mess and madness. Imagine suddenly being a surviver on the planet.
A good series to read is Earth Abides, Lucifer's Hammer, and Into the Woods. Throw in The Children of Men.

Several reviews have noted what they call the essential pessimism of the book: Man Has Fallen, Civilization Is No More, etc. Well, yes, that is all there. But what is also there is a profound triumph of the human spirit: Civilization is Dead - Long Live Civilization. I will NOT spoil the ending, but book ends with a rebirth - an obvious societal pregnancy if you will - of a new civilization, one profoundly in keeping with the new conditions of their brave renewed world.

One can imagine a sequel, and I wish Stewart ahd written one!

I first read this book almost 50 years ago, and have re-read it multiple times. It is one of the best "transition" books ever written. I recommend it on several levels.

An amazing and prescient post-apocalyptic story. Stewart knew his stuff and created a convincing tale of how thing might well go when civilization unravels. Hard to put down and worth your time to read.

Allow me to digress for a minute. Has anyone ever seen the Bruce Willis movie The 12 Monkeys? Anyone besides me that is? I didn't think so. Back to the subject hand. The plot of Earth Abides is similar to that movie. A biological plague devastates the United States and the rest of the world. Isherwood, "Ish" Brown, comes across a dying man named Barlow. After Barlow's death, Brown's the last man on Earth. If I may digress again, it's also similar to the 1971 Charlton Heston movie "The Omega Man." Ish sets out on a cross-country trek to preserve our culture. In Arkansas, he finds roads in disrepair, and forests reclaiming everything. That's all I'm telling you. If you want to find out "the rest of the story," READ THIS BOOK!!!

George R. Stewart's "Earth Abides" was written in 1949, so of course there are some anachronisms that occasionally jolt the reader. The Giants play at the Polo Grounds and the Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. There are no interstate highways and radios all have vacuum tubes.
These minor historical curiosities aside, what truly amazes is the timeless of Stewart's story. How many science fiction novels from 1949 still rate the glowing reviews of "Earth Abides" you will find here? By comparison so many modern sci-fi stories are formulaic, written with short, choppy sentences, shallow characters, and action sequences ready made for transfer to the screen.
Stewart's vision of the future, where education and especially reading, slowly fad away after an apocalypse applies more to today's world than that of his own. His characters have little ability to bring back the technological remnants of the dead world, and truly, if 99% of the people on the planet were to disappear how many of us have the skills to keep the power going, the water flowing, and automobiles running decades after the disaster? His characters adapt to their environment in the most natural way.
In the nearly four decades I have been reading books this is one of a handful that has made a memorable impression and which I consistently continue to recommend.

Wow, just wow. I can see that a lot of better reviewers have already had their say, but I've never been this moved and impressed.

I was concerned about getting a book that was so old, but there really weren't many references that took me out of Ish's shoes: The lack of TVs, the attitude of and towards the African Americans (to avoid using his words), and to entertainers of whom I only recognized Bob Hope. Other than that it could have easily happened today.

I'm pleased by how the book was ordered, with most of the chapters covering only a year in detail with a chapter about the intervening years between sections. It probably would've been easy to pad out those years rather than summarizing them, but it would've been too much.

Most of all I like the short sections in the middle of chapters, largely in the first section, that help to break it up and provide a omniscient viewpoint and a break from Ish's lesser understanding and awareness. The portions relating to how the different plants and animals were affected interested me greatly.

I'm very happy with the ending as well. Overall the book has several good thinking points. Definitely one I would suggest to others.

I found this book to be amazing. It is a very detailed -- at times almost too realistic -- depiction of life after an apocalypse. I found Stewart's handling of societal changes quite believable, and more sophisticated than many more modern works. He also does a great job drawing characters that we can believe.

I read somewhere that the author was shocked that this is still on the top of many "The Best of Science Fiction" lists. Since he set out to write a literary adventure story, and not science fiction. So be it.

Whatever you call it, though, it is riveting.

Being a fan of apocalyptic SF (among other things), I ordered this after seeing it on several peoples's lists of the greatest end-of-the-world/post-apocalyptic novels. It tells the story, of Ish Williams, who is one of a handful of survivors of a sudden plague that kills off something like 99.99% of the world's primate poulation. Earth Abides describes, in linear chronological fashion, the subsequent 50 years or so, following Ish who becomes the leader of a small band of survivoirs and eventually the shaman-like last survivior of the pre-plague people.

The book was written in 1949 and feels very dated, in terms of dialog, ideas and socio-political themes. There are distinctly (although thinly veneered) anti-technology, elitist and generic christian motifs running rather crudely throughout, all of which turned me off. In a couple of places, the author's science is arguable or just plain wrong, and some of his plot devices (cars that still work after sitting on a lot for decades) feel contrived. All this aside, the writing itself just isn't that good.

The main character, Ish is a neurotic misanthrope. No genius himself, Ish is nonetheless an incredible intellectual snob, judging everyone around him including his loving wife, to be of lower intelligence than he. A young (already lonely and alone) graduate student at the beginning of the novel, this remarkably unlikeable character goes on to comment negatively about the intellectual capacities of everyone who comes along in his life, except for one grandson that he deems worthy to become his successor.

There is very little action, and many descriptive passages about changes in the earth and its flora and fauna following the disaster. The latter are fairly interesting, but not as interesting or well-researched as more recent works (e.g., After Man: A Zoology of the Future). The novel is unfortunately, not particularly well written. I guess, being written in 1949, one has to award points for originality, but compared to dozens of novels and a number of non-fiction works published since then concerned with the fate of the earth after man is gone, there is not much here that warrants this novel's amazing longevity.

I understand how this novel could have been very popular when it was published. I am, however, at a loss to explain this novel's huge popularity and staying power today. That it remains in print 61 years after first publication is astounding to me, as are all the 5-star reviews. Virtually all of the ideas and themes visited have been done better by others who are much better, and more interesting writers. One particularly acute contrast is with James Van Pelt's "Summer of the Apocalypse", that I read immediately after "Earth Abides". It is far superior in every respect, although a superficial description of each makes them sound very similar. Nevertheless, they could not be more different.

I was very disappointed by this "classic" and would not recommend it on any level.

JM Tepper

However, if you want Mad Max or his clones go elsewhere. Since I read this book back in grade school it has always been on my shelf, in fact I usually have 2, one personal copy and one copy to give to friends. I read many of the reviews of this book and wonder if some of these people read the same book. To me Earth Abides is one of the most uplifting books ever written. This book shows that no matter what comes, life and happiness will happen. No matter all Ish's failings to teach his people, his Greatgrandchildern are happy, they do not miss what they never knew. He teaches them to survive and they will teach themselves the rest. Again I say if you are looking for an actionpacked end of the world book I would recommend Daybreak-2250 A.D. by Andre Norton. However if you want one of the best books written that will make you think about humanity and all its failings and gifts, READ THIS BOOK! I just wish I could have given it 15 stars instead of just 5.

I had great expectations when I started this book and got out of it slightly unsatisfied. The book shows pretty well what civilisation is about and how much it is fragile. Also how much civilisation relies on a few individuals only. All the lost knowledge in the library no one can understand remains as a vivid image in my mind.
In spite of some theories underlaying the story being already out of date, that book poses essential issues and the empathy we develop for Ish in his efforts and trials to answer them and maintain some civilisation makes the story moving.

Earth Abides from George R Stewart is a good book about what would happen if suddenly the entire world population, except for a few, would die from a disease. As such, the book is remarkable as one of the first post-apocalyptic novels in existence (dating from 1949). And it is a very well thought through one too. Aiming for realism, exploring the various effects and problems the survivors would face, it renders the many successive post-apocalyptic stories as merely unrealistic popcorn stories. However, don't expect the story to "draw you in". The events are typically kind of boring, and even though there is a distinct set of characters, they never really develop. Further, the writing style is not always really gripping, but rather unexciting. Also the dated moral reflections might be a let down for some, but I suppose that is mainly caused by the time the book is written.

The book details a number of time periods: just after the epidemic, 5 years later, 20 years later, and 50 or 60 years later. The time in between is sketched very roughly. The story centers on Ish, a survivor of the mysterious epidemic. Ish is an academic, working on his (PhD?) thesis in Biology. We learn later that if the epidemic would not have struck that Ish would probably end up as a professor (like the writer). Ish is, apparently, the only 'thinker' left on the world, and all the people he meets are about (or under) average on IQ and ideas, but not necessarily in other practical matters. Ish is an observer, not really a natural leader, and he does his best to plan a safe way for the remaining people towards a new civilization. However, it becomes clear, that even though Ish knows a lot and has many skills, that a lot of work and ideas hardly influence the people in his community and that he fails on many great planned things, even though he also has some unexpected success with small but eventually rather important things.

The good part of the book, what makes it a classic, is that it explores most issues you can think off about what would happen if such an epidemic would occur. It explores the psychological effect in the beginning, the scavenging of the stores for existing goods, the mingling of very different average people in a group, the effect on the rest of the ecology by the sudden disappearance of men, the effect of aging on materials, infrastructure and goods, the way the average people would face these changes, (small) group interactions, diseases, unnecessary skills (e.g. reading), the automatic development of groups of people, and the limited effect of the ideas of the intellectual few (maybe dealing with some of the writer's own frustrations). And probably I forgot a few explored ideas as well.

However, the book is not perfect, and not a classic in the sense of some Heinlein, Clarke or Asimovs that I have read. Some flaws: characters are rather stereotypical, the main character seems to be a bit thick and single minded at many points (irritating sometimes), all characters have a great lack of initiative and many times things just stay as they are, but also not all ideas are fully (satisfyingly) worked out. Also some logical plot holes exist, and timescales of things happening seem to be bended a bit to fit with the lifetime of the main character.

However, in spite of the many small flaws I shortly pointed out, I can still recommend the book. It is not for everyone, and certainly not for people that look for a really exciting story, but the discussed ideas and the thoroughness in which many of those are explored (making it a kind of hard-scifi book), combined with the historical value of this book as a very early post-apocalyptic book make this book really valuable and read-worthy. If you are not immediately letdown by its flaws and if you are interested in idea-books and speculative fiction, I would certainly give this one a try.

A grossly interesting book, perhaps the actual first, to explore the thought of "what to do to survive in post-apocalyptic America with little skills and a hammer" - all avenues are skillfully probed and prosed.

The first quarter of the book captivated my imagination with the wandering, scavaging and, ultimately, surviving. The middle half was deeply interesting to see how one man could restructure his life so that Americans could live after the plague. The last quarter was filled with expectation and anxiety, seeing how the family has turned out and whether or not the new Americans will prosper as they had before.

If you're manic depressive you definitely don't want to read this book. Normally, I love exploring the delicious idea of an end of the world scenario, then having the opportunity to start over. But, I was amazed at how much I hated this book. The characters simply showed little redeeming value and did little but live off the works of the last surviving generation. God, how I slogged through the entire book, hoping that it would get better, that I was going to learn some valuable life lesson or something. It never came. When I finished the book this morning, after reading it in spurts over a period of a month, I really was depressed!

The writing is workman like, which is sad, because there's not a poetic line in the whole book, with the exception of the title itself. Oh well.

I first read this book when I was 19 years old in 1974. At that time, most novels in this genre were post-nuclear where the United States and the Soviet Union were foolish enough to unleash their hellfire. This one takes a different approach. There are no mutants, no zombies, no cannibals. The end comes, as it has for so many human civilisations, from a disease that was not created in a lab but evolved from an earlier less virulent agent. Think avian influenza.

It is based on the premise that any species that becomes so very numerous and lives in such dense number is vulnerable to a sweeping pandemic that kills many or almost all of the species. In this case, humans have skated by since the Black Death hit Europe and killed one third of the humans in Europe. A disease appears, but owing to the mobility of our species with rapid global transport, it manages to sweep the planet before anyone is really aware it is there.

As with all pandemics, there are generally some individuals who survive either by peculiar circumstance, slight differences in genetics, or just pure luck. In Ish's case, it was more a combination of circumstance and luck. He has gone to a cabin to rest from the stresses of life and is not even aware at first that a new disease is abroad in the world. He just happens to be hiking and suffers a snake bite. The story suggests that he became ill with the disease at the same time and that venom and the disease basically worked against each other; thus, sparing his life. Once he recovers, he discovers a world empty of people. He takes a trip across the country from his starting point in California to New York City then down through the South and back to Los Angeles. This is where the first clear difference appears between this book and most all others. In this story, there are small numbers of survivors, but most are too shell-shocked and skittish to approach. So North America and presumably the rest of the planet is beginning to restore its natural balance, and the marks of humans are slowly being swallowed up.

The second difference is that this story demonstrates what I think is the most realistic outcome for the survivors. Most do not have the skills to survive from nature and starve or die from injury, but some begin learning to survive. Ish is one who does. It follows him through the remainder of his life and the one or two generations that are borne from the small collection of survivors who collect around him. Unusual intelligence is not something that results from all matings. Mostly it is average intelligence sufficient to learn survival skills from the parents. Ish will make efforts to ensure some civilisation survives such as reading and writing, but even with that humans change. Domesticated animals survive in feral forms or die out. Predator and prey balance is gradually reestablished. Suburbs gradually revert to forest or grasslands. Natural fires become part of the norm, again.

This book is an adventure but not in the same way of a story such as Alas Babylon or the movie 2012 (abominable science in that one). This is an adventure in that the world returns to a form that produced humans in the first place. This is a book for mind and heart more than the thrill. It has stood without becoming as dated as most of these books do. The words 'computer', 'radiation', and 'desperate' do not appear. I think more than anything, the survivors take a while to realise that their lives are not going to return to the way they were. I give this novel all the stars allowed and would give it more if I could.

I am a fan of similar themed books. But this one just does nothing for me. The only interesting aspect is the (almost consuming) focus on how other animals in the biosphere react to the human population crashing down.But that doesn't make up for these huge flaws:

1) The interpersonal aspects are awful.People just don't relate to each other the way the author describes.
2) Dominated bi sudo-Christian bible verse that gets added in to say something meaningful is happening
3) The storyline takes place so long ago that it is hard to see it as anything but a time-piece.
4) Racist, sexist views embedded very deep in the assumptions
5) Overall a very boring story line. No emotional growth in the characters and no growth in the community or plot. Just terrible, really.

Spoilers**

TLDR:
A group of people miraculously survive a world wide pandemic that wipes out 99% of the population. They are so complacent, shell shocked and unable/unwilling to adapt that after 20 years their offspring are almost incapable of surviving. They are led by an arrogant, obnoxious, unfeeling man who is somehow the leader but does nothing to help ensure the survival of the group until the last possible moment.

I fail to understand why this book is considered a classic. I have many issues with the book. I couldn't suspend belief enough to over look what are glaring problems with certain plot elements.
Where are all the dead bodies? When Ish gets back from his cabin the towns and cities have almost no dead bodies. Where did they all go?
The first of many is that after 20+ years "The Tribe" is still living off of canned goods. After 20 years there would be no nutritional value left, the risk of getting some kind of food poisoning would be very high, the cans were covered with rat feces, and there would be a chance of lead poisoning. But they are surviving off of this food with no ill effects.
The water continues to flow for 20+ years? Not very likely.
They boys go off on a road trip, in a Jeep that has been sitting for those 20+ years and have no issues finding gasoline. Not possible. There would be no gasoline available that was still usable.

Then there is the story. The book is much too long. The pages of philosophizing about the condition of man, his place in the universe, about civilization, the future of man and religion are almost endless. Some critical reviews of the book proclaim that these people would not know how to cure meat or filter water so they did the best they could by surviving on canned goods and wild cattle. There are TWO libraries within walking distance. To draw a picture:
Libraries=books
Books=knowledge and how to
Knowledge and how to=cured meat and drinkable water
But the fact that at least Ish, if you assume all the other characters are as stupid as Ish states, had at his fingertips the ability to learn these things is completely ignored. This could also be stated of his complete inability to start a garden and protect it from animals. Growing a garden is a difficult endeavor (at least to me) but he doesn't even try. Ish is arrogant, obnoxious and over worries about everything. Em as a character is not her own independent person. She only exists to provide calm and reason when Ish goes off the rails yet again.
The children and grandchildren born to the survivors are completely illiterate. The children didn't seem "interested" in learning to read, write or do arithmetic so they were never taught. The end of civilization doesn't seem to be the time to practice hands off parenting. There is one exception to this but it is easy to tell that he won't live very long.
The story jumps in time to the final ending. I was glad it was over.

Distractingly racist and sexist. Characters are one-dimensional. Plot is slow and plodding. Concepts of post-civilization ecological succession seem too simple and scientifically naive, so even scifi readers who couldn't care less about character development will be disappointed.

This is the last time I use Reddit recommendations to pick my reading material without reading lots of additional reviews.

Somewhat dated (1949, duh!) re: sexual and racial attitudes. Also inaccurate in the assumption that gasoline lasts forever without decomposing (that's Diesel). A bit heavy, too, on the biblical quotes.

BUT... Those are mere quibbles, in light of more recent works over the past 65 years that have trodden the same ground that this book pioneered. Overall, still satisfying and packs a punch.

I recently re-read this book after twenty five years. The story drives with a unique force as the naturally detached observer-protagonist Isherwood witnesses the Earth and Mankind's remnants slowly re-establish a new balance. This reacquaintence also served as a reflection on myself.
As a teenager, I was drawn to Ish's character, much like my own at the time: quiet, reflective, socially uncomfortable. I took great delight in identifying that the book took place in my own neighborhood: The rock where they carved the years is a perfect description of Indian Rock in Berkeley, where I climbed countless times as a kid. For years after, wherever I went I liked to see how unkept gardens took over their yards, how abandoned houses returned slowly to Nature's way, how unused roads returned to the soil at a relentless if geologic pace.
As a man in my 40s I find the tale retains its fascinating hold. I still like to see how Man's works change in their own way when left alone, just as any other object in nature. Much of Stewart's description of that change rings true and is well visualized. But most striking to me was that the nature of the characters had changed in my mind. No longer were they just people like myself, making the best out of this extraordinary circumstance. The second time around, the characters were very unsatisfying. Ish is the only one with any ambition at all, and he is unable to make anything of it. This is due entirely to his personal failings: the social stiffness he never outgrew, his lack of focus, his increasingly insular view of his place in the surrounding world. I was particularly offended by a scene of "crime" and punishment. Yet these are not failings of the author nor of the book. Stewart was simply taking the opportunity to show that, barring the survival of some remarkably talented and organized people, civilization is not by any means guaranteed to carry on. Though "The Stand" is more entertaining, "Earth Abides" remains much more satisfying.

This book is one of the most moving and realistic surival novels that I have ever read, the suceive plauges of Domsicated animals and pests for one, and the point that the most brilliant minds of of western, and Gobal Civilization would break under the strain of the end of civilization seems all to true. Though the very end of the book was depressing(as San Fransico burns, and the Part about the new Human tribes) but even though civilization is pushed under, it is suggested that it will rise again in the far future though as we watch civilization unravil as Isherwood tries to pick up the peices is heart breaking, his attempt at a school is sad and the way that he finally breaks under the strain of being remembered as a god. This is a great classic of Sf Read this book!!

I enjoyed this book and appreciated the thoughtful way in which the author depicted how the world could be with only a few humans left in it. Stewart covers a lot of topics (religion, education, environment, race, family, marriage, etc.) and how they would evolve or devolve over several decades. He describes a world where random people are left alive and those people may not be the most suitable people to live under the new conditions. The story moves along fairly quickly and generally kept me interested, if not fascinated.

Some other reviewers mentioned how the main character, Ish, seems a little devoid of emotion at times. I agree, but I found another trait in main character more annoying. He spends a large amount of brainpower philosophizing and lamenting the lack of intelligence and motivation in the rest of the tribe. While Ish does some teaching, the children never learn reading or basic math skills. They also never work on any improvement projects or learn to recreate any of the basic disposable items they use regularly. My complaint is that Ish doesn't do any of those things either. I blame him for many of their failings. You could say that his shortcomings are realistic, but it drove me a bit crazy.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

Post apocalyptic, 1949, science fiction novel of man’s survival after a “disaster” destroys all civilization except for a few survivors. Alluding to biblical themes such
as Genesis, expulsion from the Garden of Eden and Adam (Isherwood Williams) and Eve ( Em), the survivors start a new tribe and are part of the natural and artificial selection of starting a new society. Over time many hurdles are overcome and the novel ends on a note of optimism.

The latest post-apocalyptic fiction seems to focus on dealing with deadly infected persons. What if they just all died and a small group had to start over. This book focuses on a main character who is more human than the supermen of modern apocalypse, he's not an ex-special forces operative with pre-med and a welders certificate who grew up on a farm. He's a little lazy, has some relationship issues, a mediocre teacher and in the end is just a normal guy dealing with population events.

Read 20 years ago, never forgot it, still own a copy I picked up at Goodwill. A great, and I think very likely, end-of-the-world scenario. Technology does not survive, and will likely take many generations to rise again.

I dont write too many reviews any more and I dont want to make this into a flame session but let me get this right Corie (from your review).
The book is literally about the last man on earth, and you're indifferent to the character's guarded and self preserving manner. I think you are completely out of sync with the theme, let alone the character. This is a brutally honest portrayal of a human being (with all his short comings) in the wake of oblivion. Not a butterfly in the midst of smoke. It's a reactionary tale, one of struggle and survival. You seem to see it as moment for liberation and righteousness. If anything Corie, you have imposed yourself on this character, in the same vain you speak of.

This is the individual, warts and all, and merely hating him does not render this book yucky.

As for the racial tone that you claim, as quoted by Powell Timothy "...its revolutionary (for the time) treatment of racial issues was particularly powerful in the mid-20th century when the book was published, and influenced many contemporary artists, most famously Jimi Hendrix. "Earth Abides" was Hendrix's favorite novel, and inspired some of the songs on his first album"

Perhaps, if some of you better relate to decisive characters, you should watch the post apocalyptic TV soap drama, 'Jericho' instead. There you will find your cliche depictions of heroes and villians.

Earth Abides by George Stewart is an incredible book. It follows the main character, Ish, as he tries to make sense of a world where humans are nearly wiped out by disease. What makes this book special, is that it's protagonist is a deliberate, thoughtful man that brings the story a sense of realism that is rarely seen in this kind of fiction. It is very interesting to see how and if civilization can survive such a "Great Disaster". The story benefits by being completely plausible, and even though the book was written over 50 years ago, it is still fascinating today. I highly recommend this reading.

As a fan of non-alien, post apocalyptic novels, I sometimes struggle to find truly good books to read. Well, Earth Abides is a truly GREAT book, and you will not regret this choice. The book is well-written and unforgettable. It was written in 1949, but wears its age well. I was even able to enjoy its social perspectives toward women and race. George Stewart, like Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn, really struggles with the social beliefs of his time, and questions both racism and sexism without overpowering his remarkable story of survival.

I'm an avid reader. I especially like realistic science fiction, but don't limit myself to the genre. I rank Earth Abides in the top 5 of ALL the books I have ever read.

In my top 5 Science Fiction Novels Ever.

Earth Abides tells the story of one solitary man who survives a global, but short-lived plague by pure chance. The novel chronicles his life from that point until his eventual death and is filled with both adventure and introspection. At times the main character, Ish, is hard to like simply because his reactions are so human it's disturbing. He's no hero, and in the post-Heinlein flood of heroic SciFi novels you could be forgiven for calling this novel slow.

Earth Abides reaches the lofty height of my number 3 favorite despite the fact that it DID NOT win either the Hugo or the Nebula Award, in fact it wasn't even nominated. Instead I award it this honor because it is the most brilliant example of the post-holocaust theme I've ever encountered, and that theme is a huge one in the Speculative Fiction genre. This is THE BAR, and no one has raised it in 50 years.

Superbly poetic and graceful, Earth Abides is undeniably honest, realistic and human it's long, diary-like journey from start to finish. I could easily see myself as Ish... which is both a revelation and scary thought at the same time.

Earth Abides, written in 1949, tells the story of the fall of civilization from deadly disease and its "rebirth". It is actually three books in one: the disintegration of the world, the establishment of a new collective culture, and the moral weights of leadership. I initially read it as a post-apocalyptic novel and was rewarded with a philosophical treatise on the loss of a way of life and the dangers of man oversimplifying himself. The development of the tiny band's subsequent generations is more terrifying than a plague wiping out the planet. It is a story of 'what man wrought' but not in the way one anticipates. Originally classified a "science fiction" novel, now, with time, it must be categorized as literature.

This is one of my favorite books. Written in 1949, it's remarkably contemporary and accessible. I love the references to hifi. It seems to me more of a work of philosophy; a meditation on humanity, relationships, change and civilization, which is precisely why it's so timeless. It's also something of a love story and there is a gentle tenderness pervades the entire story. Ish is a wonderful character. As the world is completely and unalterably transformed around him, he strives for continuity and permanence. In the end, his striving is for naught, he's failed. But there is no bitterness and remorse but an acceptance of the world around him and the love that expressed itself in his relationships with others. The story wasn't anything like I thought it would be, much better.

Though it feels a little dated having been written over four decades ago, "Earth Abides" deserves its place with great 1950s era end-of-the world books like "On the Beach" and "Day of the Triffids." The scenario is similar to the one Stephen King used in "The Stand" though the plague wipes out a much larger number of people and there is little spiritualism here. What affected me most was the latter part which shows the years passing in the life of the main survisor. I rarely get emotional while reading, but this story did it to me.

I definitely agree with all the other reviewers who said this is one of the best sci-fi books I have ever read. And I have read a lot of sci-fi over the past 55 years. Although written over 65 years ago, it still carries a powerful message.

I first read this in college for an English class and it really caught my imagination. Overall, the basic plot line of the book is very interesting and thought provoking, though the writing is not what I would call first rate. I like the fact that the book focuses on the fate of civilization in the wake of an overwhelming catastrophe without resorting to the seemingly inevitable appearance of zombies or other un-dead as is the case in so many other post-apocalyptic stories. I also like that the story balances optimism and pessimism, rather than going totally pessimistic a la 'The Road'.

I really liked this book. I like books from earlier times, like "On the Beach."

The people are kind of naïve, compared to our current times, and just very sweet. It got kind of boring in the last half, but I liked how the main protagonist was followed throughout his life, and how he made sure people would survive with certain skills.

One of the things that ring loudest in this book to me is the way that nature acts to the, mostly, absence of man. The deer and the rats are free to overpopulate and have an abundant food supply but nature takes care of that by form of disease and bring it back into balance. The way earth swallows up and destroys all that man has made now that those creations have no human caretakers. The lack of zombies and creatures and any initiative to create, maintain or grow food or advance civilization just speaks to how complacent man gets with modern conveniences even in 1949. All make this a very believable scenario for me.

This was one of the first books I read as a kid. I was enthralled back then with the idea of a plague wiping out the vast majority of people so my father suggested "Earth Abides" as a suitable read. I enjoyed rereading the book as an adult recalling the same fascination with the storyline as I did over 25 years ago. The author tells the survival story of Isherwood Williams, a man who evades a plague due to a counteraction to a snake bite.

The author peppers the pages with intricate details such as Isherwood's realization that he is a good candidate to survive the aftermath since he was young and fit and had his appendix removed. Even so, he took care while descending a flight of stairs, concerned that even the slightest injury could be fatal in a post-pandemic world. At one point, Isherwood sees a Coke-a-Cola sign in the distance flashing on and off (like they used to do in the 70's) and wonders how long the power will stay on without people maintaining the infrastructure. Later as children are born to the survivors, he feels no need to correct their improper English since there was no longer a basis for proper spoken word.

An interesting point about this storyline is that presumably those that did survive the epidemic would have had a natural immunity to the disease, but those like Isherwood, surviving by a counter reaction, could pass on the susceptibility to the disease to future generations.

Throughout the book Isherwood possesses a hammer that first is a mere tool, but later comes to symbolize his authority and a new justice. Along the way, many difficult decisions are faced by the people of the new society. The author assembles an extensive expanse of possibilities all logically facing the survivors of a new world. I highly recommend this book as I have for many years.

First of all, I think D.D. Shade's analysis of today's society on Earth Abides is unsubstantiated. This book is still a great book today because it is a classic. A classic, by definition, relates to all time. The assination of JFK or MLK would not have had any greater impact on this book. This book, like Ish, will continue to stand the test of time because of it's overall classical themes. That man is the complicating variable on the planet earth. Regardless of if a man or men die, the earth abides.

I had been really looking forward to this book. Sadly, it really didn't deliver. I found the story telling very linear, the main character Ish, lacking in any real depth and the logic of how he and his small band of people survived, very questionable.

I found the first 1/3 of the book interesting. The main character Ish, travels the US in search of other survivers of the deadly plague that ravenged the world. It read more as a travel logue than an sci-fi book, but never the less, was still interesting. However, one would be better served reasing the book, "A world without us".

Ish, seems nonplused by the vanishing of humanity. The character uses "logic" to deal with the situation, but calls those who are enotional or "crazy" as being in shock. Frankly, it appeared to me that Ish was in shock, due to his lack of emotion over the loss of basically everyone. It was as if he rationalized it this way, "wow, everyones gone, oh well, I'm lonely, but that's the breaks".

Finally, gathering enough other stragglers together to form "the tribe", they seem to live solely on old can goods from local markers for...22 years!!. I don't know about you, but the last thing I would eat was a can of food that was 22 years old.

It appears as if everyone in the "tribe" was hit with the stupid stick. Any normal parent would teach their kids the basics of reading and writing, not these folks, it's as if they all just gave up. Plus there is a point in the story where it's highlighted that none of the children even know numbers! WTF? Any normal parent teaches their kids how to count their freaking fingers and toes!

Also, the book was written in 1947, yet no one in the book knows a thing about gardening! No one had victory gardens during the war? No one lived on ration cards?

It's like all these people dropped out of the sky.

There are some many other things wrong with this book, I could go on for pages.

Why did I give it 3 stars? 1 for it was a post apocolypic story, the second for the first 1/3 was okay, and lastly, the 3rd star because there were some mildly interesting moments.

Beyond that, it's like a group of morons running around in a dark room trying to find the switch.

I haven't read this book in at least 35 years yet I feel like I read it only last week. This story was unique in it's treatment of humanity and it's approach to the end of the world. This is not a Man conquers over all obstacles story. The future is bleak but the characters are real humans faced with the end of their civilization. They abide, after a fashion, but not near the same as the humanity we know. I wonder how this might have been done with man's dependence on technology even greater today. This is a classic and deserves more attention.

Earth Abides by George Stewart is an incredible book. It follows the main character, Ish, as he tries to make sense of a world where humans are nearly wiped out by disease. What makes this book special, is that it's protagonist is a deliberate, thoughtful man that brings the story a sense of realism that is rarely seen in this kind of fiction. It is very interesting to see how and if civilization can survive such a "Great Disaster". The story benefits by being completely plausible, and even though the book was written over 50 years ago, it is still fascinating today. I highly recommend this reading.

As a fan of non-alien, post apocalyptic novels, I sometimes struggle to find truly good books to read. Well, Earth Abides is a truly GREAT book, and you will not regret this choice. The book is well-written and unforgettable. It was written in 1949, but wears its age well. I was even able to enjoy its social perspectives toward women and race. George Stewart, like Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn, really struggles with the social beliefs of his time, and questions both racism and sexism without overpowering his remarkable story of survival.

I'm an avid reader. I especially like realistic science fiction, but don't limit myself to the genre. I rank Earth Abides in the top 5 of ALL the books I have ever read.

In my top 5 Science Fiction Novels Ever.

Earth Abides tells the story of one solitary man who survives a global, but short-lived plague by pure chance. The novel chronicles his life from that point until his eventual death and is filled with both adventure and introspection. At times the main character, Ish, is hard to like simply because his reactions are so human it's disturbing. He's no hero, and in the post-Heinlein flood of heroic SciFi novels you could be forgiven for calling this novel slow.

Earth Abides reaches the lofty height of my number 3 favorite despite the fact that it DID NOT win either the Hugo or the Nebula Award, in fact it wasn't even nominated. Instead I award it this honor because it is the most brilliant example of the post-holocaust theme I've ever encountered, and that theme is a huge one in the Speculative Fiction genre. This is THE BAR, and no one has raised it in 50 years.

Superbly poetic and graceful, Earth Abides is undeniably honest, realistic and human it's long, diary-like journey from start to finish. I could easily see myself as Ish... which is both a revelation and scary thought at the same time.

Earth Abides, written in 1949, tells the story of the fall of civilization from deadly disease and its "rebirth". It is actually three books in one: the disintegration of the world, the establishment of a new collective culture, and the moral weights of leadership. I initially read it as a post-apocalyptic novel and was rewarded with a philosophical treatise on the loss of a way of life and the dangers of man oversimplifying himself. The development of the tiny band's subsequent generations is more terrifying than a plague wiping out the planet. It is a story of 'what man wrought' but not in the way one anticipates. Originally classified a "science fiction" novel, now, with time, it must be categorized as literature.

This is one of my favorite books. Written in 1949, it's remarkably contemporary and accessible. I love the references to hifi. It seems to me more of a work of philosophy; a meditation on humanity, relationships, change and civilization, which is precisely why it's so timeless. It's also something of a love story and there is a gentle tenderness pervades the entire story. Ish is a wonderful character. As the world is completely and unalterably transformed around him, he strives for continuity and permanence. In the end, his striving is for naught, he's failed. But there is no bitterness and remorse but an acceptance of the world around him and the love that expressed itself in his relationships with others. The story wasn't anything like I thought it would be, much better.

Though it feels a little dated having been written over four decades ago, "Earth Abides" deserves its place with great 1950s era end-of-the world books like "On the Beach" and "Day of the Triffids." The scenario is similar to the one Stephen King used in "The Stand" though the plague wipes out a much larger number of people and there is little spiritualism here. What affected me most was the latter part which shows the years passing in the life of the main survisor. I rarely get emotional while reading, but this story did it to me.

Recently I took it upon myself to read the twelve books describing end of the world scenarios that are being recommended by the store in one of its lists. Of the twelve that I read, this is by far my favourite book. George Stewart wrote a story that is both believable and entertaining. In fact, with only a few minor historical references to culture in the 1940's, one could easily think that this book was written yesterday. I regret that the other books written by Stewart are not widely available. I think he's an amazing writer. Buy and read this book. You will not regret your selection.

I definitely agree with all the other reviewers who said this is one of the best sci-fi books I have ever read. And I have read a lot of sci-fi over the past 55 years. Although written over 65 years ago, it still carries a powerful message.

I first read this in college for an English class and it really caught my imagination. Overall, the basic plot line of the book is very interesting and thought provoking, though the writing is not what I would call first rate. I like the fact that the book focuses on the fate of civilization in the wake of an overwhelming catastrophe without resorting to the seemingly inevitable appearance of zombies or other un-dead as is the case in so many other post-apocalyptic stories. I also like that the story balances optimism and pessimism, rather than going totally pessimistic a la 'The Road'.

I really liked this book. I like books from earlier times, like "On the Beach."

The people are kind of naïve, compared to our current times, and just very sweet. It got kind of boring in the last half, but I liked how the main protagonist was followed throughout his life, and how he made sure people would survive with certain skills.

One of the things that ring loudest in this book to me is the way that nature acts to the, mostly, absence of man. The deer and the rats are free to overpopulate and have an abundant food supply but nature takes care of that by form of disease and bring it back into balance. The way earth swallows up and destroys all that man has made now that those creations have no human caretakers. The lack of zombies and creatures and any initiative to create, maintain or grow food or advance civilization just speaks to how complacent man gets with modern conveniences even in 1949. All make this a very believable scenario for me.

This was one of the first books I read as a kid. I was enthralled back then with the idea of a plague wiping out the vast majority of people so my father suggested "Earth Abides" as a suitable read. I enjoyed rereading the book as an adult recalling the same fascination with the storyline as I did over 25 years ago. The author tells the survival story of Isherwood Williams, a man who evades a plague due to a counteraction to a snake bite.

The author peppers the pages with intricate details such as Isherwood's realization that he is a good candidate to survive the aftermath since he was young and fit and had his appendix removed. Even so, he took care while descending a flight of stairs, concerned that even the slightest injury could be fatal in a post-pandemic world. At one point, Isherwood sees a Coke-a-Cola sign in the distance flashing on and off (like they used to do in the 70's) and wonders how long the power will stay on without people maintaining the infrastructure. Later as children are born to the survivors, he feels no need to correct their improper English since there was no longer a basis for proper spoken word.

An interesting point about this storyline is that presumably those that did survive the epidemic would have had a natural immunity to the disease, but those like Isherwood, surviving by a counter reaction, could pass on the susceptibility to the disease to future generations.

Throughout the book Isherwood possesses a hammer that first is a mere tool, but later comes to symbolize his authority and a new justice. Along the way, many difficult decisions are faced by the people of the new society. The author assembles an extensive expanse of possibilities all logically facing the survivors of a new world. I highly recommend this book as I have for many years.

First of all, I think D.D. Shade's analysis of today's society on Earth Abides is unsubstantiated. This book is still a great book today because it is a classic. A classic, by definition, relates to all time. The assination of JFK or MLK would not have had any greater impact on this book. This book, like Ish, will continue to stand the test of time because of it's overall classical themes. That man is the complicating variable on the planet earth. Regardless of if a man or men die, the earth abides.

I had been really looking forward to this book. Sadly, it really didn't deliver. I found the story telling very linear, the main character Ish, lacking in any real depth and the logic of how he and his small band of people survived, very questionable.

I found the first 1/3 of the book interesting. The main character Ish, travels the US in search of other survivers of the deadly plague that ravenged the world. It read more as a travel logue than an sci-fi book, but never the less, was still interesting. However, one would be better served reasing the book, "A world without us".

Ish, seems nonplused by the vanishing of humanity. The character uses "logic" to deal with the situation, but calls those who are enotional or "crazy" as being in shock. Frankly, it appeared to me that Ish was in shock, due to his lack of emotion over the loss of basically everyone. It was as if he rationalized it this way, "wow, everyones gone, oh well, I'm lonely, but that's the breaks".

Finally, gathering enough other stragglers together to form "the tribe", they seem to live solely on old can goods from local markers for...22 years!!. I don't know about you, but the last thing I would eat was a can of food that was 22 years old.

It appears as if everyone in the "tribe" was hit with the stupid stick. Any normal parent would teach their kids the basics of reading and writing, not these folks, it's as if they all just gave up. Plus there is a point in the story where it's highlighted that none of the children even know numbers! WTF? Any normal parent teaches their kids how to count their freaking fingers and toes!

Also, the book was written in 1947, yet no one in the book knows a thing about gardening! No one had victory gardens during the war? No one lived on ration cards?

It's like all these people dropped out of the sky.

There are some many other things wrong with this book, I could go on for pages.

Why did I give it 3 stars? 1 for it was a post apocolypic story, the second for the first 1/3 was okay, and lastly, the 3rd star because there were some mildly interesting moments.

Beyond that, it's like a group of morons running around in a dark room trying to find the switch.

I haven't read this book in at least 35 years yet I feel like I read it only last week. This story was unique in it's treatment of humanity and it's approach to the end of the world. This is not a Man conquers over all obstacles story. The future is bleak but the characters are real humans faced with the end of their civilization. They abide, after a fashion, but not near the same as the humanity we know. I wonder how this might have been done with man's dependence on technology even greater today. This is a classic and deserves more attention.

The characters in George R. Stewart's Earth Abides symbolize many biblical people.
Isherwood, the main character, is referred to as Ish throughout the novel. "Ish," however, can also be a shortened form of the name Ishmael. Ishmael was a biblical wanderer who allegedly founded the Islamic religion. In the first half of the book, Ish is a wanderer, venturing all over post-apocalyptic America, eventually settling down and founding a tribe.
One of Ish and Em's children, Joseph (who is referred to as Joey), is representative of the biblical Joseph. He is very gifted intellectually, and has the ability to see the deeper meaning in any situation, much like the biblical Joseph's ability to interpret drams; unlike the biblical Joseph, however, his talent is squelched, when he is stricken with typhoid fever, and dies as a result.
The mentally-handicapped Evie has a name similar to the Eve, and is naïve, much like her biblical predecessor. Eve is targeted by the evil serpent, and is expelled from the Garden of Eden when she partakes of fruit from a forbidden tree. Similarly, Evie is targeted by Charlie, a greasy character who lusts after her and plans to take advantage of her innocence. Before actually seducing Evie, however, he is executed by the others in Ish's Tribe, for Evie's well-being. Likewise, the serpent from the Bible receives his comeuppance in the form of expulsion from Eden and being made to walk on his belly for the rest of eternity.
Ish's wife, "Emma," is referred to as Em throughout the novel. This also ties in biblically, for "Em" can be short for "Emet," a name meaning "Truth." Emma is characterized throughout the novel as a strong-willed individual who helps hold the Tribe together. After Joey's death from typhoid fever, Ish asks Em if there might be a God taking vengence for Charlie's execution. Em responds, "If there is a God who made us and we did something wrong before his eyes... at least we did wrong only because we were as god made us, and I do not think that He should set traps." (258) She speaks her mind, and she speaks the truth.
Ezra was a biblical prophet who chronicled the return of the Jews to Jerusalem after their expulsion by the Babylonians sixty years prior. Likewise, in the novel, Ezra speaks with great foresight-much like a prophet-and lives to observe the Tribe's rebuilding of civilization.
These and other biblical parallels make Earth Abides one of the most symbolic modern-day books.

Chris Fitzgerald
English 10
Mrs. Cruces
5-20-02
Earth Abides Evaluative Essay
The novel Earth Abides, written by George Stewart, took place in San Francisco,
California. This science fiction novel focuses on a plague that has spread across the North
American continent and is threatening the human species. The novel contains the life that
an individual survivor, Isherwood Philips (Ish), lives. A majority of the population has
seized to exist. Ish is an important part of the Plague because he is a biologist. Ish goes
through his life in this novel by bringing other characters into his life. Ish is one of the
survivors that has the intelligence to form a tribe and become the leader of this tribe. Ish
has a compassionate soul and struggles to help other survivors find their way.
Earth Abides is a very interesting novel. This novel is easily enjoyable because of
its connection that it gives of the key characters who are intertwined in a drama that is
dealing with a cataclysmic event of a Plague. This makes the novel a good read. This
kind of event is very possible considering the times that we live in now. This novel does
not only relate with people coming together to struggle for survival. It also deals with an
event that could very well take place.
This novel is great for anyone over the age of about 12 years old, because of the
way that this novel is set up to involve thinking and real life experience to understand the
true meaning of the novel. Anybody who is looking for a good science fiction novel will
like the great novel Earth Abides.

Read this book when you're really depressed. You will realize that things are not all that bad. Earth Abides provides hope. Even if everything we hold dear, everything we assume to be permanent, everything human disappears, the dream will survive.
This is not the metaphysical good v. evil crap of Stephen King, nor the bang-bang rootin' shootin' end of the world of the pulps, but a quiet look at what the world would be like if mankind silently slipped away.

Earth Abides is a book about no matter what happens to the race of people, Earth will always abide. A Man named Isherwood Williams somehow survives this fatal virus that is going around killing the whole human population. Ish then spends almost the rest of his life driving across the country searching for survivors. When he finally meets a group of survivors he "marries" one of them and has about twenty children with her.
Ish does find a few survivors, however it was definitely not enough to keep me interested in finishing the book. I thought this book was long, drawn out and sometimes too boring. If George R. Stewart, the author, would have spiced it up a bit with more science fiction things happening. For instance if more abnormal things happening to the humans than just death like it was a flesh eating virus and then something else happened with the virus. The genre of the book is Science Fiction. The plot this author had in mind was a god idea however if it was only about one hundred pages shorter and the ending with the twenty children was cut then it would have been easier to keep
interest.
So all in all the book had very few parts that could have been
edited out and still would have made sense. The idea of the book and the plot of the book was good. I like the little reality the book had in it. Again if there were more science fiction, and less pages, it also might have been better. So that is why I gave the book a measly two stars out of five. I think this a reasonable amount and I commend the author on his work. I would recomend this book to someone who loves to read and is interested in books about little science fiction and little reality.

I would have given this book fewer stars if I had been able to put it down. In spite of the stilted prose, odd inaccuracies, and generally bleak view of human nature, Earth Abides' end of the world scenario is completely gripping. There's none of the pseudo-mysticism of The Stand, just pure mid 20th century sci-fi goodness. Some of the scenarios Stewart presents aren't very subtle, and his views of women and blacks are what you might expect from 1949, but if you're at all interested in the "what happens after a mysterious virus wipes out most of humanity" scenario, Earth Abides is worth a read.

After reading Earth Abides in 1968 as a 10th grader, I have read it six more times, getting a new insight of the book each time. My son (11yrs of age) has now read it twice with the same enjoyment as I have. It is a book that makes the mind think, wonder and dream the " WHAT IF" and "COULD IT REALLY HAPPEN" questions. Read it, sit back and think it. After the hair on the back of your neck sits down. Then read again next year.

I don't think that any of the reviewers have mentioned this, but I think that there are important details in understanding the book. George R Stewart was an English professor (at UC Berkeley), but he has a real strong feeling for the land, landscape, weather and nature. He wrote about storms, the Donner Party, and other geographical subjects, especially relevant to California.

The story is set in the East Bay, and has many identifiable locations and views .that add a certain warmth and familiarity to the story, even after six decades. The tribe lived in easily identifiable Oakland/Berkeley hills of the late 1949's.

Ish is initially bitten by a rattlesnake in the Sierra, which would have been familiar to many in Berkeley (then and now)-the mountains, not the rattlesnake. He has respectful and loving depictions of the UC Berkeley Library, which Ish needs to break into- Stewart would have used the library regularly. He described the natural changes in animals and plants that would be expected in the hills. He describes a fire which occurs across the Bay, in San Francisco and the northern Peninsula. Finally, the last scene has the tribe walking across the Bay Bridge. That is the same bridge that exists today (although it will be replaced in a few years).

BUT the most important thing is his name. Ish ("Isherwood") really stands for Ishi., the famous Indian survivor studied by Kroeber at Berkeley in the early 1900's. That is a well-known piece of Berkeley lore, and Stewart was certainly familiar with it. ... Ish, the last survivor of a dead tribe....

I have been looking for this book for a long time. I read this book for an Environmental Science class at Long Beach State about 20 years ago and it made such an impact on my thinking about the environment. Every time I see grass growing up through the cracks in the street or the roots wrapping around pipes I think of the book. While the environment seems quite fragile, it appears that it is not a fragile as we think and we are the fragile ones.

As of this date there are 158 reviews of George R. Stewart's Earth Abides here in the store.com. I'm not sure that writing a 159th will really add any value or if anyone will even make all the way to #159 to see it. But I feel very strongly about this book and to the intrepid reader who gets this far, I hope it helps you to decide to give the book a try.
I was 12 years old in 1968 when my Mother gave me this book to read. She was (and still is) a voracious reader. But she has never liked or appreciated science fiction. Then again, she never considered this book to be science fiction. I read the book in one day that summer and have read it at least a half dozen times in the 35 years since then. And I would agree. Although often voted as one of the best science fiction books of all time, I don't really think of it as science fiction. Stewart was not a science fiction writer. Rather he was more of an ecological writer looking at how the planet behaves in relation to specific circumstances. Two of his other novels, Fire and Storm are good examples of this.
One area I differ strongly from my Mom is, I do have a good appreciation for science fiction as well as other apocolyptic fiction. Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert, Robert Heinlein, Philip Jose Farmer and Issac Asimov have thrilled and entertained me for years. But Earth Abides was what got me started and remains my favorite piece of fiction.
Earth Abides is a simple "what if" story. What if virtually every person on earth died and only a handful were left? Given the book's publication date in 1949, it was groundbreaking. No one had really written a novel on this topic before this. Virtually all the other books in this genre owe a debt of gratitude to Stewart. Books such as The Stand by Stephen King, Alas Babylon by Pat Frank, Malevil by Robert Merle, Lucifer's Hammer by Niven & Pournelle and Swan Song by Robert McCammon included.
Stewart must have had his influences, but not from a book or author of this kind. Therefore the story does not focus on war or technology or industry (or science fiction). Instead it is a tale of how the people might behave under the circumstances, the struggles they deal with, the decisions they make and the decisions they fail to make. It is also a tale of how the earth changes and the previous efforts of mankind are so easily erased.
Some reviewers here have criticized the main character Ish as being too passive. But this is a part of the novel that rings very true for me. How agressive would one be after living through a time when virtually everyone else dies? Wouldn't most people struggle to survive, never mind thrive?
I won't give away the plot for anyone who has gotten this far. Plus if you've made it all the way to this review, you've seen the plot described almost 158 times. In the end the book is both depressing and uplifting. It is depressing in that most of man's advancements appear to be lost by the end of the book. But it is uplifting to realize that the earth heals itself and in the end man will start fresh.
The book is both a product and a victim of it's time period, the late 1940's. Some of it will feel a little dated, after all it's over 50 years old and think what has happened in those 50 years. But remarkably, it still comes across as fresh. And with very little update could be brought up to present day and still be a powerful piece of fiction.
All in all this is a great read for most people. For those looking for a hard core science fiction look at the end of the world, go watch the Terminator movies.

‘Earth Abides’ by George R. Stewart comes with a considerable reputation. First Published in 1949, It was the first winner of the International Fantasy Award although it is clearly science fiction of the world catastrophe kind. That said the book isn’t extra-speculative in approach, it is set in much the same time as it was written, in an America of that late 1940s early 1950s. The main character, and narrator, of this disaster novel is Isherwood Williams a post grad geography student, Ish is one of the few survivors of a plague which has decimated the USA (and by inference the world). The book tells the tale of what happens to civilisation after the fall and describes Ish’s attempts to preserve some of it into the future. The story is told and progressed in a series of accounts, the exploration of the USA, the founding of a community, the growth of that community etc. It is written in a straight forward narrative style, with an occasional aside to speculate on the ecology, and traces the life of Ish from the time of the plague to his death. Through this journey Ish will face loneliness and find love, the small community he gathers about him will both flourish and suffer tragedy, and all along Ish chronicles things with his eye on history and ecology.

For me, one of the main strengths of this book is that Ish is one of the most relatable protagonists of just about any book I’ve read. Ish is the sort of person who we’d like to think we would be in this situation. This is not to say Ish is perfect and he’s certainly no hero. He has a methodical and intellectual outlook to tackling situations, but he suffers as many failures as triumphs. This gives the book an emotional depth uncommon in a lot of SF and it is this humanity within the characters and their simple plight which drags you into the story. I think this is the book’s secret, it has the ring of truth. The characters send you through a gamut of emotions from nostalgia to anger, we care about them and are emotionally invested in there future.

I don’t often read disaster novels and it took me some time to build up to read it, I wanted to read it because of its reputation but somehow I always seemed to find another book I needed to read first. Finally biting the bullet I found after only a few pages it had become compulsive and it ended much too soon. Whilst I have read some high enjoyable and great books both before and since, it is this book I find that sticks in my mind and the one that I contemplate upon. This book deserves all the praise it has received, and it has widely been proclaimed a masterwork. That it isn’t more widely known today is a shame. This book has probably become, even against my will, my favorite SF novel.

most of the other "end of days" books I have read have had a MUCH darker view for the survivors. this book gave the survivors most of the comforts they took for granted before the massive die off. I wonder if we really would have water and electricity for that long with no one to service those utilities. the main character was given to a LOT of introspection, which made me think seriously about how people would cope afterward. I enjoyed the book, and may recommend it to my book group and hear their comments on it.

I hate to add a note of dissent to all the glowing reviews but this book really frustrated me. It`s not that it was badly written though I found the style a little clinical. I guess that is just a reflection of the personality of Ish, through whose eyes we see the unfolding of the years following the devastating plague. Myabe it was his character that annoyed me so much and basically put me off the book. He seemed to consider himself so superior to those about him and become almost unbalanced in his lofty plans for his favourite son. I found it hard to believe that everyone else in the community apart from him was so darn thick. I also found it very sexist, even though i know that only reflects the time it was written. The author`s attitude to race relations was dedfinitely more forward-thinking than towards women, who were mainly portrayed as baby-obsessed brood-mares. Even Em, the main female character was seen as reacting to events on an instinctual rather than intellectual level.
The apathy of the community also bothered me - would people really be this unconcerned about their children`s future? Decades later and they hadn`t taught the children to read so they could learn how to do all that stuff they`d eventually need - like how to make candles, when to plant crops, how to weave fabric, etc etc. I can`t believe they were STILL living off tinned food all those years after and hadn`t even bothered to domesticate any horses or grow vegetable gardens! I prefer the English series Survivors, which I feel tackled the practicalities of having to provide and produce absolutely EVERYTHING necessary to life for yourself much better than this did.

The only reason I looked for this book is that I always remembered the title and it had such an impact on me, I can't forget it. I probably read it in about 1977, but I'm not sure exactly when. I just saw a little video showing what it would look like if there were no more humans. It caused me to remember this book. I plan to read it again.

Earth Abides.

Earth Abides, a novel by George R. Stewart, is an excellent novel that depicts a possible scenario for a post-apocalyptic world. It provides people with a fantasy realm with questions of what could happen and what will happen all through the eyes of the novel's main character, Ish. He joins up with a couple of survivors in what he sees fit for the new world and they create a society that tries to cope with it. George Stewart further enriches the story with character chemistry and strong elements of theme.
Themes of survival and love are strongly present throughout the novel. Ish's strong will to contain the community he had once known pushes him to survive so he can teach the next generation of what good can become of it. His relation to Em also draws out the love and caring in Ish.
George Stewart uses chemical equations between characters to draw an exact importance of each person in their society. He chooses a man named George who is a carpenter to build and repair homes. He has a friend named Ezra, who acts as an advisor to Ish. They all piece together to form Ish's envision of a good society.
The topic that concerns Ish the most is the community he had once known. Ish, who is trying to inflict positive change in society, is cursed with the inability to change himself.
Throughout the book, he learns to trust his society and the future, which is dependent on him to lead them. He learns of the differences between the two generations and tries to blend in. He goes through many experiments, which has led in to some disaster and many good.
Earth Abides is a great novel about the fantasy and high possibility of a post apocalyptic world. The characters and themes in the novel are beautifully inscribed drawing an essence of drama and suspense into an already stone set feeling of both feelings. Reprising themes of love, survival and many other themes are present to enrich the story. Earth Abides, a novel by George R. Stewart, is a novel I'd recommend to anyone who is interested in character chemistry and the post-apocalyptic ideology of George R. Stewart.

As a long time reader of sci-fi, this novel-EARTH ABIDESs is the single best story ever written. I have read it more than 30 times. From the time Ish begins his relent measures to understand what has happen, the start of rebuiding a social group, the developement years, and the final bridge location with Ishs' final thought of "Men may come and go but Earth abides" stirs thoughts of --how would you perform in a like setting.

I read the Earth Abides, after listening to a friend describe this story as one of the most impactful he had ever known. Several years later in the early 1980's, I stumbled across a slightly used copy in a bookstore. George Stewart tells a fascinating tale of a post apocolyptic vision staged in the East Bay section of the San Francisco Bay area. This story has stayed with me and endures as a valued set of images. The struggle to make sense of the horrific and nonsensical was intuitively accurate. The story revealed in human terms the everyday efforts of a small group of survivors, suddenly stranded and adrift. The beneficiaries of a hulking but hollow industrial infrastructure that no longer served those who remained and their succeeding generations. The unfolding "descent" of industriatized society as well as the marginalization of technology was at once fascinating and frightening. The ending left me stunned, yet wisened.

I read this book when I was in middle school, probably 1982, and it's impressive that it seemed futuristic even at that time when it had been written decades earlier. With the imminent release of "I Am Legend" I was reminded of this book again as a different take on post-apocalyptic literature.
I said it was memorable but flawed because it gave an interesting early look at the idea of a pandemic, and the aftermath of such, but didn't seem to give a realistic take on the survivors' civilization. Why would people suddenly give up their institutes of religion, for example? Historically, when has this happened? He has black people in the south growing cotton "just because" and worshipping crocodiles (I don't know if this was a racist component or not.)
In the end, his view was rather too cynical and unrealistic about the way people react to the loss of technology. Technology isn't what makes people great, it is their values. I think he didn't realize that.

Very rarely do I finish a book and immediately recommend it to other people. Mostly books help pass the time and end up portraying the same plot; another female FBI agent trying to catch a serial killer who ends up stalking her. However, after reading Earth Abides I called up my brother and told him to pick it up. The book, while written some 50 years ago is still topical. The book takes you on a journey of how a person survives after a disaster that wipes out almost the whole population. It then takes you deeper, you find yourself emotionally involved with the character. And you realize that George Stewart has moved from an tale of physical survival into a tale of emotional conflict. The transition is smooth and the two easily complement each other. If you enjoy reading about a world where civilization has been wiped clean and a new world must start over. I highly recommend this book. The writing was engaging and intelligent without confusing you. The storyline was deep and involving. Overall, the main character becomes immediately identifiable. The book ends; but the world created by George Stewart lives on in our imagination. And, I believe that is a definition of a good book.

I throroughly enjoyed reading The Earth Abides because it compelled me to consider what motivations there are for the individual to continue living. I felt the most interesting part of the book was the notion that the individual must actively define what direction his life is to take, the setting of the story added to the importance of this decision and entertained different options and the validity of those decisions.

I love end-of-the-world fiction. Call me a gourmand of it, if you will. Well, one story I had missed was, "Earth Abides". So, I read a lot of reviews here at the store and I decided to buy it.
I gave it three stars because I did not finish it. Usually, I can read anything. Even bad fiction becomes a challenge to conclude; disappointing fiction is a different story. It's just isn't my type. Though, I can appreciate what others see in it.
Summary: A fellow goes off hiking and is bit by a rattlesnake. After his near-death experience and recovery (lasting about 2 weeks), he comes back to society to find no one home. The book follows his life as he: travels, struggles, meets other survivors, starts a fledgling society.
The strengths of this book encompass one man's struggle to survive an unthinkable situation. It is wonderful at explaining some the effects of a global disaster in which only the people are gone. Our ordinance remains. But all eventually decays. The next generation of human society loses it cerebralness, but gains an innate link to the earth. Man exterminated by a virus with extreme prejuidice has now become just a creature not a ruler of the earth.
In fact, just as I am typing this out; I am getting excited to read it. But, here come the negatives.
The weaknesses are few, but very important. Characterization. Stereotypes abound, while the earth abides. Women are merely wombs needed for their matronly duties. Which would be true in this case. But there is no other extrapolation of feelings and thoughts for the women other than a prehistoric regression of their being and worth. All other characterizations are weak. The protagonist grows on in years but not in emotional or intellectual depth.
There are other things that I did not like in the book. When things start to break down, our hero does nothing to stop it; even when he has others to help him. On grand scale, when the infrastructure fails, nothing is done. Not even attempted. One man may not be able to save a power plant or water system. But a group could. Well, possibly. After all, they have all the time in the world. Even if the those infrastructure repairs are ignored, what about personal systems? Our hero is a graduate student in Geology, and this book was only written 50 years ago. The Cold war is in it's infancy. Bomb shelters, survival gear are not unheard of. Oh well. That's what I don't like.
Conclusion: I think if I was a teenager I might have read this book differently. But being in my early 30s and a scientist skews my notion of this type of fiction. Please read this book. You may be able overlook, or not even think what I pointed out were points against it. Personally, I'd suggest reading, "The Stand", "Warday" or "I am Legend".

This book makes me want to explore the store's return policy for Kindle editions.

Barring that, it has made me learn how to delete items from my Kindle.

It has also taught me to pay attention to negative reviews.

It is simply awful. Why, then, 2 stars?

Well, the story - once you get past its one massively huge, incredibly off-putting major flaw - isn't too bad. Many folks have pointed out factual issues (ever volatile gasoline and canned goods that never go bad), and called these fatal flaws. I attribute them to the publication date: maybe, in 194x, when personal automobiles, gasoline, and canned goods were still fairly new, it simply wasn't known that they both spoil? I don't know, but those details weren't killers for me.

What ruined the story, then? The protagonist. Our hero. I've read books with villians who were infinitely more likeable than the main character, Ish. He's a contemptible, amoral, elitist sociopath and I feel dirty having inhabited his mind for the past 2 days.

I can kind of understand his elitish judgement of the people around him. Again, consider the context of the 1940s. Even today, college degrees are relatively rare (even though I think many of us who have them forget this fact. They are almost universal in the people with whom I associate, but still only 10% of the US population have them.), and in the 40s they were rarer still. So our disgusting hero was part of an elite at the time, and the majority of the population probably did not possess even high school diplomas. Once I realized that, he became slightly less unpalatable.

However, our hero, Ish, views the near extinction of humanity with no more emotion than I view an empty of box cereal in the morning. In fact, I think I have more emotion over the cereal. His reaction to learning his parents have died? Effectively, "eh, so what. What's in the fridge for dinner?" Similarly, for no reason, he considers simply shooting the dog that accompanies him and, later, decides to shoot two cows just because. Not for survival or meat, really, just because he had a gun and they were there.

He has no qualms about simply looting whatever he needs (a viable survival skill, I'll grant you), but views with contempt a group he encounters on his road trip who didn't move into a more palatial home simply because they could - and who are doing a more effective job of adapting to their new situation.

He meets a couple in New York who insist on pretending nothing has changed, and looks down upon him. Yet the rest of the book, he exhibits nearly this exact behavior - living off canned food rather than adapting. He constantly disparages his colleagues in the Tribe for lacking imagination and drive, yet for all his superior intellect and thinking and ideas, does exactly nothing to drive change.

I thought, eventually, that the author had made him so utterly horrible deliberately and that, over time, we'd see a metamorphosis in Ish, an awakening in him that he was not the paragon of humanity he believed. There are hints, here and there: his admitting that, though she's stupid, his wife was the true strength in the Tribe, etc. But, in the end, this contemptible human is still full of himself, believing his descendent's view him as a 'god', and, sadly, is still the same, utterly obnoxious, foul human that he started as. He takes pride in this, too, which is pathetic: to have survived the death of civilization, to have had even a weak hand in its rebirth, and to believe that the experience has left you utterly unchanged, that you would have been the same person if society had simply carried on, is truly sad.

I first read this book when I was 14, having borrowed it from the school library. I read it twice more in the following year. It affected me deeply and since then it has quite often crossed my mind to find the book again and re-read it. How surprised and happy I am after idly checking this website to see if that title would come up! I plan on ordering the book so I may savour every word of it all over again!

A half-century ago, Stewart saw too clearly a future which could, indeed may yet, come to pass. He, and only a few others, survive a world-wide plague. How he attempts to preserve his society - how he prioritizes, what agonizing choices he and his 'flock' make, the compromises they have to accept - makes for among the finest end-of-the-world books ever written. Ish, the main character, is no less uncertain, no less fascinating, than Macbeth. Ish is clearly the everyman each of us could see in him/herself after a catastrophe impossible to imagine. A long book - it could be no less - by its end, one hopes for a sequel. It is not clear whether Stewart is optimistic about this future - and that too is appropriate. For every reader will probably come to a different conclusion as to where the 'tribe' is headed based on his/her own perceptions of what Ish did correctly or otherwise and what the reader might have done differently. No modern home library is complete without Earth Abides.

I first read this book when I was 8 years old. My dad had left it out and I grabbed it up and read it. Even at 8 years old I found this book gripping and thought provoking. As I grew older I would find a copy and read it, and each time I would gain something new from reading this book. I am 45 years old now and I am feeling the urge to read it again. I think the reason why the survivors did not "rebuild civilization" was because they were all in shock--their whole world (friends, lovers, children) had been wiped off the face of the earth almost overnight. If you add to this the author's stated premis that the survivors were mostly average to dull, then the story makes more sense. I recommend this book to anyone, it's a sci-fi classic. I also think the movie "The Omega Man" might have been inspired by this book.

Earth Abides is a disaster story where aplague almost wipes out humans. Becausewe grew too prosperous we had to die, according to the author, that is just the way things work. So the few survivors get by never trying to improvetheir lives, having no ambition the human race lapses into hunter gatherers with only superstition as a guide. Thisbook is a waste of a good oportunity. Insted of saying "Hey, we can occomplishthings if we work hard and perservier." The author tells us "Hey, we're almost as good as cockroaches and if we drop our standards, we too can can eek out ameager existence."I don't have to pay people to depress me, I can do that all by myself. What awaste of time and money.

I love the apocolypse genre - so thought provoking, and Earth Abides is one of the best I've read so far. I was surprised I'd never heard of it before seeing someone on a message board mention it. I decided to give it a try, and am so glad I did. This has now been moved into my books to read again, and that really doesn't happen often.

I didn't realize how long ago this had been written until the main character described going into a house and sitting down to rest on the "davenport" - how long has it been since we heard that term?

Really though, the premise is such that it really doesn't matter when the book was written. The same thought provoking situations occur. Highly recommend.

I've read this book at least 5 times and it gets better with each reading. It still seems fresh and timely, especially with what is happening in Africa with the Ebola virus. If you're looking for a book about humankind's possible future you can't go wrong with this one.

I read this book years ago (in the early 80's I think). It was my first post-apocalyptic novel and there are pieces of it I still remember. When something kills most of the people in the world, Stewart takes us into middle America. A dog named Bridget (I think), an Irish Setter, sits and waits for her people to come home. Bridget's bewilderment and her mourning is what I remember. The protagonist is a teen-aged boy who struggles to survive. Along the way he meets a housewife in her 30's, and she eventually becomes his wife. She's lost her husband and children and there's something she's hiding--a secret that illustrates how the world has changed since 1949 when Stewart wrote "Earth Abides." Earth Abides ends on a positive note with humanity not quite back to square one. If you like "everyone dies-but-us" books and you're sick of flesh-eating zombies and vampires, I recommend it.
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A brilliatnly written socio-sic-fi. Though the book is a bit austere for the scope fo the catastrophe, it is truly a wonderful tome! Like the later work of Stpehn King's The Stand, Earth Abides explores the questions and illustrates the harrowing reality that might be if a "super" disease were to kill most of man-kind.
Thought provking and beautifully crafted.

If you like post-apocalyptic sci-fi, as I do, you'll probably enjoy this book. The book starts out strongly but peters out toward the middle after the narrator settles down and becomes embarrassingly introspective about how himself and what it takes to build a civilization. Parts of the book are clumsily written and pretentious. If you want better apocalyptic fiction, try John Wyndham or John Christopher.

This book was incredibly boring. It started off well enough in the beginning with Ish exploring the new world, but became extremely tiresome after he settled down. The majority of the book is a recounting of the daily lives of the "Tribe." I couldn't wait til it was over. I only finished it because I'd already gone so far. An utter waste of time.

I read this book over and over when I was a teen. Other post apocalyptic novels pale in comparison. From Wyle to King the vision and the telling fall far short. The only tale that comes close is. I am legend.

I first read this book at 11 yrs old (1965), and have read it 4 more times throughout my life. I continually think about this book and always recomend it to friends. I grew up in the desert with not much to do BUT read,when I finished it the first time I had to start over right away, Ive NEVER done that with ANY other book!!! have fun reading it!!!!!

I found the premise of the book interesting and, for the most part, it was well executed. However, the characters' passivity and lack of ambition is very frustrating. The people who survived the plague seem to have lost the will to achieve! Stewart seems to deliberately portray all characters except Ish and Joey as somewhat limited, despite the fact that they actually contribute more to the continued survival of the community that the "smart one". Ish seems content to just go along and then regret that things haven't advanced. Ish doesn't ever seem to gain any understanding that he could have taken the initiative to broaden the scope of the community. Even in the context of the time the book was written, the women are treated as objects. There is no indication of deep thought or emotion from any of them.

The start of this novel was magical for me - so engrossing and so convincing. But then it descends into the comfortable and the suburban. Is this the fate of all human communities? More disappointing was the ugliness of some decisions made by the community - and for me these were far from inevitable or even justifiable. These were presaged on p132 of the SF Masterworks edition - '... except for Evie, the half-witted one, who should never be allowed to have children.' How attitudes have changed since 1949 when this book was written!

Earth Abides is an interesting take on the human condition. Whether you agree or disagree with what the author is trying to say, it is definitely a book that makes you think about the story line and characters.
While I disagree with most of Stewart's assumptions, it is well written and thought provoking. Definitely a classic that should be read again and again.

I read this magnificant book over 30 years ago and I still canNOT get it out of my head. I was born and raised in the Berkeley/El Cerrito area. While reading EARTH ABIDES, I could visualize, with extreme clarity, all the areas mentioned in the book. I actually put myself in the possibility of REALITY while: the electricity ran out; the overgrowth of flora/fauna; the animals going wild; seeking tires at dealerships on Shattuck Avenue; seeking other humans in Berkeley, the UC Berkeley library; the creating of another human generation; no racial hostility; etc. I just ordered two more of EARTH ABIDES to give to friends who grew up in the Bay Area. They will be astounded and will love it. Although written in 1949, and what is going on in the world today, was this another prophecy?

Stewart's Earth Abides has long been considered a classic in the sci-fi genre and a classic apocalyptic novel (it even helped to inspire Stephen King's The Stand). And it is no wonder why. Stewart has a highly believable, excellently written story here. Though it does lose something in the the third part of the book, when Ish is an old man. One you should definately pick up.

George Stewart provides a compelling "thumbnail" picture of mankind and how adversity can bring out the best and worst in people. This mini-saga is so well written and loaded with such a rich mix of characters and situations that the reader cannot help but wonder what tomorrow might bring. If you enjoyed Sarum you will love this

One thing that disturbs people about Earth Abides is its incredible humbling realism about the human condition. People who read it come away profoundly unnerved by the idea that civilization is not something guaranteed to come into existence if we lose it and that it requires an enormous convergence of many different kinds of stimulus to create the energies needed within a race of men to bring it into being. Even the most gifted races of people on the Earth can barely hold it together in the best of times, George Stewart shows us how easily it can all fall apart and remain in a primeval condition for untold generations.
The protagonist Isherwood suffers from the same disease that afflicts even the best of men - he lacks direction, loses initiative, becomes too preoccupied with the daily stresses of living and watches his life trickle away in the post apocalyptic environment without ever seeming to summon the right kinds of ambitions to carry out his grand dreams of rebuilding the old world.
Stewart was quite prophetic considering when this book was written because many modern anthropologists have since confirmed that many previous civilizations have died out precisely because of this "critical threshold" of the division of labor and sheer numbers of vanished races being too low to sustain a breeding population and achieve the critical mass that leads to a progress oriented civilization. Stewart was very perceptive too be able to articulate this phenomenon and even narrate its exact trajectory following the loss of so many people who were vital components in the world that Isherwood regrets the demise of.
The most disturbing aspect for me was that I see much of the exact decay of western civilization going on right now all around us and we have not even have a catastrophic plague yet. The same loss of purpose, of drive, of a sense of our own individual worth as a nation and a desire to maintain our sovereignty is slowly giving way to the degenerative notion of a world socialist government of faceless consumers who lack any culture beyond the food court and cineplex.
The terrifying thing about the book "Earth Abides" is that it is the story of our world and the modern era ... even before we suffer the inevitable collapse of our civilization in the physical sense. The reality is that we see it all crumbling around our eyes into the multicultural carnival of formlessness and we often find ourselves as helpless and feckless as Ish himself in doing anything about it.
Highest rating, possibly on the top 100 list of best fiction I've ever read. I consider Stewart to be the author of a modern classic in publishing this book. It is so much more than simply speculative fiction, it contains eternal truths.

This really great fictional accounting, by G.R. Stewart, of what our future might be, remains my favorite of the genre. I've just reread it for perhaps the third or fourth time - with some years in between. And although just a little dated it retains the vitality of adventure, promise and hope within a story of global tragedy. Considering current media hype about a possible Bird Flu pandemic this is an enlightening and enjoyable reading experience.