Has anyone else read “Earth Abides” by George R. Stewart? It’s the best book I’ve ever read, but I’ve never met another person who has ever read it.
I’ve read it. I’ve loved it. ‘Earth Abides’ is the best, most realistic, most tragic post-apocalypse novel I’ve ever read, and it is also the most hopeful. I hope I am never the Last American, but I hope I could face the end as Ish does.
Ish is one of my favorite main characters, and he’s an atheist to boot. 
It’s all coming back to me now …
Really? Geez, you’re not hanging with the right people. It’s a classic! Well, it’s a post-apocalypse classic anyway.
Not my favorite in that genre – that’d be A Canticle for Liebowitz, but I remember being deeply affected when I first read it.
Betcha lots of Dopers have read it.
I’ve heard of ‘A Canticle for Lebowitz’, but I’ve never read it. I’ll probably get around to it pretty soon, though.
You probably should have picked a better thread title, clayton_e. Something along the lines of ‘Who here has read the modern classic, ‘Earth Abides’?’ would be much more suitable for this thread. Email a mod and see if you can’t get something done.
Just checked it out at Amazon. Looks interesting enough to add to my Christmas wish list!
May I suggest A Bridge of Years and The Harvest by Robert Charles Wilson?
Thanks, will do Derleth. I knew this would be the place to find ppl who have read it.
We studied “Earth Abides” in my university sci-fi class. Muchly enjoyed it and count it as one of my top 20 faves.
Well, I’ve got to say, I hated that book. Having read “A Canticle for Leibowitz” (definitely one of my all time favorite books) before I read “Earth Abides,” I thought that Earth Abides was poorly written, contrived, and just plain unbelivable. I wish I could cite examples, but it’s been a long time since I read it and I don’t remember a whole lot.
I do remember that the ending was lame-o.
I hate to say this, and I’m sure that it’ll have a lot of people screaming for my blood, but “Earth Abides” was as badly written as a lot of bad Heinlein or Asimov can be, without the benefit of being something new and original. I suppose I’d suggest reading it if you’re into the genre, but it does not top my list by a long shot.
[slight hijack]
Oh, by the way, anyone read “Parable of the Sower” and sequels by Octavia Butler? I only read Parable of the Sower, and thought it was all right. Are the other ones decent?
[/slight hijack]
I read Earth Abides as part of my Geography 100 class, ostensibly because of the description of Ish’s journey across the country and back. Really, I think it was because the prof loved the book. I like it quite a bit too, and I’ve read it several times since.
I think the overall plot and the scenario of society re-forming hold up, but I do have my doubts as to whether power and water really would have been available that long. The power doesn’t go off for a coouple of weeks (I think…the book’s back in Michigan) and they have running water for what, ten fifteen years after the plague? Seems pretty iffy.
No problem. Even bad Heinlein is better than most of the stuff I’ve read.
Not to get off on a completely different topic (maybe I’ll start a thread a bit later) but to each his/her own I suppose. When I like Heinlein I really like him, but some of his stuff I think has just stunk (case in point… um, can’t remember the title, but the one in which the old guy gets his brain implanted into the body of his cute secretary but her consciousness is still in there).
Now back to your regularly scheduled thread about Earth Abides
(sorry for throwing down the gauntlet in this thread, stay tuned in Cafe Society for a “why is Heinlein so great”-type thread).
Thread title changed at request of OP.
I read it in my Geography of Regions class. It looks like someone else had to read it for their class as well. i thought it was okay, i was disappointed that society went out with a whimper, i think there would be riots and horror like in The Stand (we are a bunch of sick-oes, after all…). I also thought it would have been more interesting to follow the children as they went across the country and saw how society had changed, instead we just saw them leave and come back with the dirty guy. And i am reading Heilein right now (Number of the Beast, supposedly i make an appearance later in the book!! he he he!)
Count me in for liking Earth Abides also. I would have to agree that many science fiction fans have not read this book. I found out about it when my friend took a university science fiction class, and then the science fiction book club offered it as a selection. I would also agree that A Canticle for Leibowitz is a better book. I found the ending of Earth Abides to be very realistic. If you like these, you may want to check out Lucifer’s Hammer if you haven’t read it already. I think I gonna had to read Earth Abides again tonight.
Oh yeah, like pizza and sex, there’s no such thing as a bad Heinlein or Asimov.
What about a Heinlein with olives and feta cheese? Ugh!
I must have read Earth Abides many years ago, because it sounds very familiar. I guess it didn’t make that much of an impression on me because I don’t remember much about it now. I guess it wasn’t too bad, or IMO very good, either.
Started on Leibowitz once, haven’t read Lucifer’s Hammer. There’s a lot I’m painfully aware I haven’t read…
Yeah, I liked it when I read it.
Makes THE STAND look horribly unoriginal in retrospect, doesn’t it?
I liked both Earth Abides and Lucifer’s Hammer. I still think of the line in Lucifer’s Hammer where the main character mentions that peppercorns had historically been worth more than gold. In a post-apocalyptic California, it’ll be a long while before anyone gets peppercorns again!
Oh man, a Heinlein with olives and feta cheese is my favorite. Of course, you have to pick those damned raw tomatoes off. And a good dose of sex with Asimov and chicken, sure it’s not my favorite, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. 
If you want a real bummer ending try On the Beach… very depressing.
Yes: I liked Earth Abides;
No: It was not as good as Canticle for Leibowitz.
So far I think the only sequel is “Parable of the Talents.” It follows “Sower” well; if you liked the one you’ll like the other. They’re… icky, but compelling.