New Leaf Nominations for December 2019 • The End of the Road: Finales

[gmw]

I need to get past my severe dose of DMD (Decision Making Disorder), so at the risk of going a step too far, going off the end of the road and beyond the human finale...

I nominate The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

Synopsis from Kobo:

"On the day after humans disappear, nature takes over and immediately begins cleaning house - or houses, that is. Cleans them right off the face of the earth. They all go."

What if mankind disappeared right now, forever ... what would happen to the Earth in a week, a year, a millennium? Could the planet's climate ever recover from human activity? How would nature destroy our huge cities and our myriad plastics? And what would our final legacy be?

Speaking to experts in fields as diverse as oil production and ecology, and visiting the places that have escaped recent human activity to discover how they have adapted to life without us, Alan Weisman paints an intriguing picture of the future of Earth. Exploring key concerns of our time, this absorbing thought experiment reveals a powerful - and surprising - picture of our planet's future.

324 hardcover pages according to Goodreads.

There seem to be multiple editions and the prices vary, so watch out for that.

Example prices from Kobo: USD $9.99, CAD $10.99, GBP £7.99, AUD $14.99

Non-fiction, obviously, which tends to be more expensive. I'm hoping people might find it in libraries (published in 2012), but this time I'm not holding back to find out.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by gmw

... at the risk of going a step too far, going off the end of the road and beyond the human finale...

I nominate The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

Wow - bold choice! Great interpretation

[fantasyfan]

I’ll second The Calculating Stars.

[Catlady]

I'm going to renominate a book I nominated at the end of last year: Every Man Dies Alone (alternate title: Alone in Berlin) by Hans Fallada, translated by Michael Hofmann (1947, transl. 2009; 546 pp.); it was his last book, published posthumously.

Based on a true story, this never-before-translated masterpiece was overlooked for years after its author—a bestselling writer before World War II who found himself in a Nazi insane asylum at war’s end—died just before it was published.

In a richly detailed portrait of life in Berlin under the Nazis, it tells the sweeping saga of one working-class couple who decides to take a stand when their only son is killed at the front. With nothing but their grief and each other against the awesome power of the Third Reich, Otto and Anna Quangel launch a simple, clandestine resistance campaign that soon has an enraged Gestapo on their trail, and a world of terrified neighbors and cynical snitches ready to turn them in.

In the end, Every Man Dies Alone is more than an edge-of-your-seat thriller, more than a moving romance, even more than literature of the highest order—it’s a deeply stirring story of two people standing up for what’s right, and for each other.

This edition includes an afterword detailing the gripping history of the book and its author, including excerpts from the Gestapo file on the real-life couple that inspired it.

Amazon U.S., $12.99
Amazon Canada, CA $9.88
Amazon UK, £4.99
Amazon Australia, AU $14.99

Kobo U.S., $12.99
Kobo Canada, CA $13.59
Kobo UK, £4.99
Kobo Australia, AU $14.99

Overdrive has the e-book and audiobook, RB Digital and Scribd have the audiobook.

(I copied the links from my original nomination; I have not checked to see if there are any price changes.)

[issybird]

I'll second Every Man Dies Alone, which I've wanted to read for a while.

[gmw]

I third Ending Up by Kingsley Amis

I second The End of the Affair by Graham Greene


So many books, so few votes.

[Catlady]

I nominate The Final Days by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (1976, 500 pp.).

“An extraordinary work of reportage on the epic political story of our time” (Newsweek)—from Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthors of All the President’s Men.

The Final Days is the #1 New York Times bestselling, classic, behind-the-scenes account of Richard Nixon’s dramatic last months as president. Moment by moment, Bernstein and Woodward portray the taut, post-Watergate White House as Nixon, his family, his staff, and many members of Congress strained desperately to prevent his inevitable resignation. This brilliant book reveals the ordeal of Nixon’s fall from office—one of the gravest crises in presidential history.

Ebook and audiobook. Available in all relevant countries, as well as through Overdrive and Scribd.

Amazon U.S., $13.99

[Victoria]

I second The Remorseful Day. ‘Inspector Morse’ was my all time favourite BBC mystery, and actually bought the series, though expensive at the time. So I’m quite curious about the books.

Tough choice though - I wish I hadn’t wasted a vote on two nominations. That’ll learn me.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Victoria

I second The Remorseful Day. ‘Inspector Morse’ was my all time favourite BBC mystery, and actually bought the series, though expensive at the time. So I’m quite curious about the books.

Tough choice though - I wish I hadn’t wasted a vote on two nominations. That’ll learn me.

Yes, I find a single nomination leaves me a bit more room to maneuver. (FWIW, I read the second and third of the Morse, and quite enjoyed them. But haven't read this one. )

[Bookpossum]

A single nomination and two votes to second or third other books also means we have a greater number of fully nominated books, unless some people don’t nominate a book but simply support others’ nominations.

I third The End of the Affair.

[issybird]

I'm seconding The World Without Us, which is outside my usual and sounds timely and provocative.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

A single nomination and two votes to second or third other books also means we have a greater number of fully nominated books, unless some people don’t nominate a book but simply support others’ nominations.

I third The End of the Affair.

Very good point Bookpossum - we have a string of unsupported/half supported books this month. There are 3 I wish I could help get over the line.

[Bookpossum]

I will third The World Without Us - I have often speculated on how much better off it would be if we all disappeared.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

I will third The World Without Us - I have often speculated on how much better off it would be if we all disappeared.

You have to wonder what the dinosaurs would have written: imagine if those creepy, furry little rat-things take over the world? Errk!

[Bookworm_Girl]

I will second The Stone Angel and third Every Man Dies Alone.