Earth Abides
First published in 1949, Earth Abides is the story of what might happen if 99.99% of the world's population is wiped out by a plague. I'm not saying, it's what *would* happen, but the scenario laid out is very plausible, yet full of surprises. George R. Stewart's thoughtful novel feels very fresh -- none of his ideas about humankind's new beginning seems dated or incorrect.
Ish, the protagonist in the story, brings together a ragtag group of survivors and attempts to reboot civilization, but runs into plenty of problems. How for example, do you deal with the fact that car tires will oxidize and become useless after 20 years? Who will make new tires?
Believable and exciting. Link
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This was one of my favorite books growing up. My English teacher in 9th grade, bless his heart, taught it as literature. He set up a panel where some of us in class pretended to be the main characters, and I was Ish. It's one of my fondest memories.
Great book.
Note to those interested but don't want doom and gloom. It is not so much about a plague and its aftermath as it is about a survivor documenting society in such event.
Not so depressing.
Earth Abides is an amazing book and incredibly old school. It was my mother's favorite book growing up and is not easy to find. Nice.
I love that the main character is named Ish. How cool is that?
I just checked—there's a copy in my library. I'm going to get it tomorrow.