So what would happen to our planet if all the people vanished? How long before the constructions of Homo sapiens turn to microbial dust? The answers are riveting (e.g. Manhattan’s Amsterdam Avenue would become a river in no time). This book makes complex science accessible to the average reader and displays a breadth of knowledge that is breathtaking. The fact that the Earth sees humans as a kind of temporary virus is almost beside the point. Global warming? Pshaw. The Earth doesn’t care what we do to it. The Earth will go on. We won’t. Reviewed on Aug. 13, 2020