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Summary: Men come and go, but earth abides.
Review: First published in 1949, this novel won the 1951 International Fantasy Award in Fiction (the first one awarded) even though this is not a true fantasy novel. The International Fantasy Awards were originated by four British science fiction and fantasy fans (Leslie Flood, John Beynon Harris, G. Ken Chapman, and Frank A. Cooper) for the 1951 British science fiction convention. The awards lasted between 1951 and 1957. George R. Stewart (1895-1980) was a Professor of English at the University of California in Berkeley. This well-read novel is about life after a plague has killed all but a few people on Earth. Isherwood Williams, a graduate student in geography, returns from a trip to the mountains to find everyone dead. He travels throughout the land and finds a female survivor. They settle down in the Bay Area around San Francisco and a small community grows around them. As time goes by, Isherwood tries to teach the children reading and the knowledge of the past. As the decades go by, he discovers that he is the only one who recalls the greatness of the past. Humans have become a band of hunter-gatherers. History has come full circle. "...men go and come, but earth abides." Carl Sandburg considered it one of the best novels of its time. It is regarded by many as a masterpiece and was a precursor for many later disaster novels (note that one of the voters of the International Fantasy Award was J. B. Harris, whose pseudonym was John Wyndham and author of another classic disaster novel, "The Day of the Triffids." One of the earlier reviewers suggested that Wyndham was a better disaster writer. But, "Triffids" came out in 1951, and Wyndham still chose "Earth Abides."). The name "Isherwood" is a direct reference to Ishi, the last surviving member of a California Indian tribe who was brought to the University by Kroeber of the Anthropology Department (many science fiction enthusiasts are very familiar with Kroeber's daughter, Ursula K. Le Guin). Ishi is still quite famous in the study of native American cultures. This book has had such an impact in the development of the science fiction genre that it is now required reading for all serious students of science fiction and speculative literature.
Rating: 
Summary: OK, of its type
Review: 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.
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Summary: Not a disaster novel, but a great study of human nature
Review: Misinterpretations abide, it seems, when it comes to this book. This "disaster" novel merely uses the disease plague scenario as a backdrop to explore human nature. There are many subtle examples here of how individuals develop as adults, how everything people know and believe is dependent on their own life experience and frame of reference. Most of all this is about the myriad of seemingly small things that people take for granted every day and do not even notice, seemingly unimportant things which are really the foundation of society and culture. Here the characters are stripped of all their artificial interests, and are left with only that foundation. The genius of this story is that it will leave you wondering just how independent your own thoughts and views are. There might be many reasons people go in the various directions they go in life, the least of which have to do with independent choices. This book is much more than a disaster novel, it is a fascinating look at sociology in action. And always in the background, amidst all the human trials and tribulations, Earth and non-human life continue as they always have, oblivious to human superiority. Hence the title, and the ultimate humbling message.
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Summary: The book that led to King's THE STAND
Review: Even Stephen King admits he based THE STAND on this interesting novel. I also recommend Doherty's AREA 51 series.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated
Review: This book is dull, slow, and predictable. I read most of it hoping that it would pick up but it never did. I usually like these type of disaster books too. Lucipher's Hammer is ten times better than this one. I really have no idea how this book could have 5 stars.
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Summary: One of the best books I've ever read
Review: This is a book everyone should read; a book worthy of being read over and over during a lifetime. I've read it twice and will probably read it several more times. The subject of a disastrous plague almost wiping out civilization is written in such a way that it's entirely believable. It's fascinating to see how Mr. Stewart's characters face survival. The very last part of the book is a bit confusing, but then life viewed from the point of a very old person may be very confusing.
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Summary: Earth Abides is the book for readers new to science fiction.
Review: Earth Abides is a great book for the reader new to the science fiction genre. Isherwood and Em are strong characters. The building of a new society is intriguing. I read this book over 25 years ago and I still remember it fondly as my introduction into science fiction books.
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Summary: Survivors of a terrible plague attempt to rebuild society.
Review: 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
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Summary: Depressing but that's the point
Review: 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.
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Summary: Not worth the time it takes to read it
Review: 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.
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