# The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

4 Hacker News commenters recommended The World Without Us by Alan Weisman and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A thought experiment on how the planet would recover if humans vanished, covering how cities, houses and artifacts would decay over time.

## Why people recommend it

- Vivid look at decaying cities (1 comments): "it outlines, for example, how cities and houses would deteriorate, how long man-made artifacts would last" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49172606))
- Stays with readers for years (1 comments): "Brilliant thought exercise that I still think about on a weekly basis 20 years later." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46492080))
- Recommended as essential reading (1 comments): "You should read "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46491069))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cuckoo-s-egg.md): 40 recommend
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amusing-ourselves-to-death.md): 36 recommend
- [The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anxious-generation.md): 24 recommend
- [Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bullshit-jobs.md): 20 recommend
- [Enshittification by Cory Doctorow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/enshittification.md): 19 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1905264038?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781905264032) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The World Without Us by Alan Weisman", https://hackerapproved.com/p/world-without-us/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).