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Summary: Essential reading for the serious SF connoisseur
Review: This is a book that rewards close reading--not skimming. Written in 1949, it is still a haunting and poignant read. Those who dismiss this as cliche must remember that this is the book that gave birth to the cliche, the first truly prophetic biological-apocalypse piece of writing, and all who come after must merely stand on its shoulders. Re-released in the "SF Masterpiece" series, and deservedly so.
Rating: 
Summary: Earth Abides
Review: I read Earth Abides the first time over 35 years ago. It is one of the few books that genuinely presents an "end of civilization" as we know it and does it well without a lot of fanfare. This is a discriptive story that I plan to read again.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring and poorly written
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. It was slow, boring, filled with uninteresting characters, and the writing was extremely stilted. And I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to accept that automobiles would still operate after sitting around with gasoline in their tanks for thirty years. I skimmed through most of the book hoping something interesting would happen, but I was utterly dissappointed. There are better books in this genre, don't waste your time with this one.
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Summary: A Flat Earth
Review: Having loved this story 20 years ago as a teenager, it pains me now to find that it is surely the most badly written book on my bookshelves. All the characters are two-dimensional. The dialogue is uniformly stiff and amateurish. Worse, there's a faintly fascist tone running throughout the entire story that I failed to notice as a callow youth, but that now reveals itself on almost every page. Perhaps the saddest aspect of "Earth Abides" is that the story is clearly and shockingly the fantasy of an author who was very probably an insecure misfit who dreamed of existing in a world without people, or at least with just a handful of simple folks over whom he could rule as their intellectual master. If Stewart had spent some time in analysis, "Earth Abides" might never have been written. It is a truly awful book.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent, Interesting, but nothing spectacular.
Review: I just finished this book, and I have to say it was interesting but nothing really special. I read The Stand many years ago, and loved it, although it was extremely unrealistic. Earth Abides has the realism, but it overdoes realism, without too much excitement. Basically if you have some time and want a quick read, pick this novel up, but if you are looking for a spectacular sci-fi or post apocolyptic book you are better off picking up another novel.
Rating:
Summary: By far the best book I've ever read!
Review: I haven't read many books from the forties, but this was way better written than todays modern books. It is about a disaster where many die. OI think it is an excellent example about how frail people have become and how dependent we are about sosciety. This is a book that makes you think... a lot. This was written in 1948, and if it were to be written today, the effects would be even more devastating because we have become more specialized every year.
Rating:
Summary: one of the classics of apocalyptic fiction
Review: 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.
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Summary: New Beginning
Review: "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.
Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written and thought provoking novel
Review: It is a mystery how anyone could read this book and feel it is poorly written. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a heart-breaking, gut wrenching , beautifully written novel. The only fault I had was its' length. I wanted it to go on and on. That is the highest praise I can give any book. Stephen King's Stand is a very good novel, too, but doesnt hit the emotional chords as well as this one does.
Rating: 
Summary: Stilted and Clunky Writing
Review: Even if Stephen King did base THE STAND on this book, he takes the idea of a world-wide plague and develops it much better than Stewart. I understand that EARTH ABIDES was written in the forties, but the stilted style of writing used and the attitudes and world view of Stewart's main characters are so jarringly anchronistic that I could never forget I was reading a book --- it never transported me into the world that the writer was trying to create. The italized asides within the chapter explaining what was happening elsewhere (i.e., lice, cats, ants, etc.) were interesting but not enough to save the book as a whole. LUCIFER'S HAMMER, WAR DAY, or THE STAND are all much better "end of the world" type books
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