Rating: 
Summary: Read it 3 times over 20 yrs. All time favorite. Timeless.
Review: Facinating concept. It's far ahead of it's time. Written in 1949 it could easily be updated to any time. It must have caused quite the controversy when originally published. Each time I've read it, I've found something new. A perfect book for discussion groups
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Summary: Powerfully Tragic
Review: In 1957, Nevil Shute wrote, "On The Beach," the quietly heart wrenching drama of the graceful farewell of Mankind after World War Three. In 1959, Pat Frank countered with the triumphantly defiant "Alas, Babylon!" telling us of Mankind surviving World War Three, although in a much-reduced way. Stephen King, in 1978, gave us "The Stand," where the near-end of Mankind comes thanks to a Man-made plague.All of these were preceded by George Stewart's "Earth Abides". The near-end of Man comes from a plague, and the story focuses on the survival of a small, diverse band of people in California. The group is led by a reluctant hero, with the unlikely name of Isherwood Williams. Ish is an introspective, intellectual loner who is prone to rumination. He ends up surrounded by a group of good, ordinary people, who have to figure out how to live in the slowly-decaying ruins of a suddenly-lost civilization. Whereas "On the Beach" is a graceful farewell and "Alas, Babylon!" is a defiance of annihilation and "The Stand" sees the subtotal extinction of Man as a pruning in preparation for a showdown by Good and Evil, "Earth Abides" is a well-written, character-deep lament for the death of civilization. Technically, the story is a gradual but steady and logical unfolding of the realization, by Ish the protagonist, that, while Homo sapiens might not be dead, the world built by Homo sapiens is gone forever. The book could have been subtitled, "Let Us Mourn For Man As Master of the World." The book has five sections. First, we see the initial impact of the plague, through the eyes of the then-solitary Ish. He finally finds a small group of fellow survivors, and they form a community. Next, comes a small subsection that summarizes the first years of the community. Then, the third section shows us that, after seeing the little group grow and, in a very limited fashion, find prosperity and contentment, the seeds of decline begin to bloom. After this third (second large) section, there is another small, transition subsection, summarizing a marked group of heart wrenching losses. I found this little section overwhelmingly tragic. The last major section tells us . . . I will not give the end away. Is this a good, or even a great, book? I did give it five stars. It is well-written and, while there are a few anachronisms (e.g., no cellular telephones, no computers, oil furnaces) and one logical problem inadequately or unrealistically addressed (i.e., where did all the bodies go?), overall, "Earth Abides" is quietly powerful and unforgettable. When I finished reading "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke, I vowed to never re-experience that brilliantly terrible tragedy again. I make the same vow with "Earth Abides". It is great, and it overwhelmed me.
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Summary: The Human Condition aptly portrayed!
Review: "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!
Rating:
Summary: Read This Review!
Review: I can't expound upon this book as some of the reviewers have. Nor can I recall in exact detail everything in the book.
But I can add value in this way.... I read this book 30 years ago, and I still think about it. I can remember the plague, the snakebite that saved the main character, the waves of predatory evolution after the event... the tribe, the forced justice, the eventual shut down of the urban areas as the infrastructure started to erode. The shift from scavanging off of grocery shelfs (for years) to providing for themselves.
The last breaths of the story teller and the fight for the symbol of power, the hammer which every year the protagonist took up to the cliffs and recorded the time since the plague.
30 Years.... and I still think about it. How many books, movies, songs... etc... do you expect to think about 30 years down the road. You probably wouldn't even remember the title let alone a rough outline.
Will I read it again? Certainly! I ran into a young lady reading this on the subway a few years back, and we had a wonderful conversation... it's that kind of a book.
Is this considered a "Good" review? Click on the helpful button if so. It would interest me.
Thanks
Much Love
gb
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Summary: First time to reat the term ecology
Review: The reviews I noticed are fine reports on this fine book. However, one point may have been overlooked. This is the first book I'd read (my first read was back in the 1960s) that used the term ecology. Mentioning this point will deepen the other reviews.
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Summary: Read it almost 30 years ago and it stuck with me.
Review: I read this book when I was in my early teens during a time when I read many sci-fi books. This one stuck with me. I won't repeat what others have said, but this book struck me as a beautifully told story about a horrible, if remote, possibility. I'm happy to stumble over it here and see that it's still in print and people are still reading it. I guess it's become somewhat of a classic, and it deserves to be.
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Summary: Post apocalyptic storyline with philosophical undertones
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Earth Lives After We All Die
Review: The concept of how civilization slowly succumbs to the forces of nature was an interesting concept. That part of the novel was very good. Ish the main character of the book was the leader of a small community of survivors. He sees himself as the most intelligent of them all and for some reason wants to keep it that way. He locks up a library and only he has access to it. Once children are born and old enough to go to school he cancels it, no children of the new world learn to read. Nobody seems to want to become self-sufficient but relies on the products of a past civilization. A stranger comes to join them and Ish murders him out of jealously that his role might be challenged. From then on he carries the hammer he killed the stranger with, with him all the way to his death. No interest was ever sparked by anyone to learn to read, farm, make things or anything else. Everyone lives off of canned goods for 20+ years. I won't say anything more in case the reader of this has not read the book and would like too. Ultimately I was disappointed but would recommend it anyway.
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Summary: Memorable
Review: 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 !
Rating:
Summary: A new favorite!
Review: 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.
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