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Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

June 2, 2011
By CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
More by this author
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

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Many books deal with what happens after an apocalypse, but few deal with it as uniquely as George R. Stewart did in his 1949 masterpiece, Earth Abides. Earth Abides is the story of Isherwood “Ish” Williams, who discovers the horrors that took place while he was in the desert, isolated from civilization. Humanity has nearly been wiped out. Rather than committing suicide like other people might have, Ish decides to survive and watch how humanity rebuilds. He can be a cold person, but he does whatever is necessary for survival.


The book is divided into three different sections: World Without End, The Year 22 and The Last American. World Without End, the first section is mainly the beginning of Ish’s struggle for survival. The Year 22 goes into more detail about the years that pass, especially the fateful 22nd year after the apocalypse. The Last American is a bit confusing, mainly because Ish is old and near death, but it is probably the most haunting section of the entire novel.


Earth Abides is a chilling story of survival and what happens after most of humanity is wiped out. I’d give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Image Credit: Amazon.com

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The author's comments:
Earth Abides is probably the most memorable book I've ever read.
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This article has 35 comments.

CarrieAnn13 GOLD said...
on Jun. 18 2011 at 6:17 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

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They're supposed to do that.  But I can understand your aversion to being purposely scared.  That's why I don't like zombie apocalypse books. :)
Tink1350 BRONZE said...
on Jun. 18 2011 at 6:05 pm
Tink1350 BRONZE, Medford, New York
4 articles 0 photos 104 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Worries are like weights and weights keep you down, so let go of your worries and fly,&quot;

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They scare me. :3 They give me the creeps.
Tink1350 BRONZE said...
on Jun. 18 2011 at 6:04 pm
Tink1350 BRONZE, Medford, New York
4 articles 0 photos 104 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Worries are like weights and weights keep you down, so let go of your worries and fly,&quot;

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They scare me. :3 They give me da creeps.
CarrieAnn13 GOLD said...
on Jun. 18 2011 at 5:47 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

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Thanks, Tink1350!  I don't mind them, but I'm curious: Why do you hate apocalyptic books?
Tink1350 BRONZE said...
on Jun. 18 2011 at 5:45 pm
Tink1350 BRONZE, Medford, New York
4 articles 0 photos 104 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Worries are like weights and weights keep you down, so let go of your worries and fly,&quot;

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i absolutly hate apocoliptic books. WITH A BURNING PASSION. But your review makes me wanna read this book. Great job. Bravo! Brava!
CarrieAnn13 GOLD said...
on Jun. 16 2011 at 10:35 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

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Thanks for the comment (and the rating!), NinjaGirl! I'm glad you enjoyed my review; I hope you enjoy 'Earth Abides' if you get a chance to read it. It's an absolute classic.
NinjaGirl BRONZE said...
on Jun. 16 2011 at 10:33 pm
NinjaGirl BRONZE, Valley City, North Dakota
1 article 0 photos 202 comments

Favorite Quote:
The only thing holding us back in life is our desire to stay where we are and not venture further.<br /> ~Some random person on the Internet :P

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Wonderful review! I'd love to read Earth Abides this summer :) P.S. I'm rating it 5 out of 5 ;)
CarrieAnn13 GOLD said...
on Jun. 13 2011 at 8:46 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

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Thanks Shadowrider!  A bit more of an in-depth analysis was what I was going for because Earth Abides itself is pretty in-depth.
SecretFlame PLATINUM said...
on Jun. 13 2011 at 5:19 pm
SecretFlame PLATINUM, Portland, Oregon
20 articles 1 photo 373 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I have a life. I just choose to ignore it.&quot;<br /> -one of my friends

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Your description and in depth analysis without overloading me was great. The review gave me enough information on the book without dragging on for pages. Great job!
CarrieAnn13 GOLD said...
on Jun. 12 2011 at 11:37 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

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Thanks!  I hope that if you do read it, you enjoy this classic novel.
IncorrectlyWired GOLD said...
on Jun. 12 2011 at 10:57 pm
IncorrectlyWired GOLD, Milford, Virginia
16 articles 0 photos 57 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness.&quot; - Aristotle

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Hmm, it sounds kinda like a book I'd enjoy. I might check it out now... which means you wrote a good review I guess.
CarrieAnn13 GOLD said...
on Jun. 11 2011 at 2:09 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

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Thanks, musicalmolly!  I don't usually read apocalyptic books either, but this one is definitely an exception.  It's just amazing; I couldn't put it down.

By the way, I wrote and submitted reviews for a few other novels by Pauline Gedge, including the other two books in the King's Man trilogy.  They'll be up in a week or more, hopefully.

MollyDoubleU BRONZE said...
on Jun. 11 2011 at 9:22 am
MollyDoubleU BRONZE, Minooka, Illinois
3 articles 5 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.&quot; - The Great Gatsby

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I don't usually read apocalyptic books; however this book sounds highly interesting. You do a fantastic job writing these reviews. I really enjoyed reading them :) Very good work!
CarrieAnn13 GOLD said...
on Jun. 9 2011 at 4:25 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.&quot; --Douglas Adams<br /> <br /> &quot;The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.&quot; --Marcus Aurelius

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Aw, thanks, JoPepper!  I think you would really enjoy this book.  It's just amazing; you have to read it to believe it. :)
JoPepper PLATINUM said...
on Jun. 9 2011 at 1:22 pm
JoPepper PLATINUM, Annandale, Virginia
35 articles 0 photos 782 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Freedom is the ability to not care what the other person thinks.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Not all those who wander are lost&quot; --JRR Tolkien<br /> <br /> &quot;When you are listening to music it is better to cover your eyes than your ears.&quot; --Jose&#039; Bergamin

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I'll look into it you do a good job at bringing in the reader with the first sentence.  Keep writing!!!!!! :))