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Nonfiction: My Greatest Nemesis (A Book Review in Tuneless Song)

In addition to my regular book club, I also belong to a men-only book club. That’s right, it takes place once a month, in a bar, where we eat burgers, drink beer, and discuss manly books. Unfortunately for me, many of these manly books are in the category of nonfiction…and I’m not man enough to take the pain.



I’ve always had trouble reading nonfiction. This posed a particular problem in college, when I majored in history. Fortunately, there were great educational movies at the video store, like Jesus Christ Superstar (Comparative Religions 130) and 1776 (Introduction to American History 100). I’ve always said, history told with a little toe-tapping Broadway lilt, is history I can sink my teeth into.

Consider in 1776, for example, when Thomas Jefferson sings to John Adams “Mr. Adams, damn you Mr. Adams. You’re obnoxious and disliked; that cannot be denied. Once again you stand between me and my lovely bride. Oh, Mr. Adams, you are driving me to homicide!” Don’t you just feel history coming alive?!

But now to the book, The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman. The subject is fascinating: if humans disappeared from the earth, how would nature take over and how long would it take. Weisman scientifically (research, working with experts) postulates the future: what would happen in New York City, for example. This really is a great book—too bad I won’t be able to get through it.