World Made by Hand

The World Made by Hand Novels, Book 1

By: James Howard Kunstler

Narrated by: Jim Meskimen

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Long Emergency, celebrated social commentator James Howard Kunstler explored how the terminal decline of oil production combined with climate change had the potential to put industrial civilization out of business. In World Made by Hand, an astonishing work of speculative fiction, Kunstler brings to life what America might be, a few decades hence, after these catastrophes converge.

The electricity has flickered out. The automobile age is over. In Union Grove, a little town in upstate New York, the future is nothing like people thought it would be. Life is hard and close to the bone. Transportation is slow and dangerous, so food is grown locally at great expense of time and energy, and the outside world is largely unknown. There may be a president, and he may be in Minneapolis now, but people aren’t sure. The townspeople’s challenges play out in a dazzling, fully realized world of abandoned highways and empty houses, horses working the fields and rivers, no longer polluted, and replenished with fish.

This is the story of Robert Earle and his fellow townspeople and what happens to them one summer in a country that has changed profoundly. A powerful tale of love, loss, violence, and desperation, World Made by Hand is also lyrical and tender, a surprising story of a new America struggling to be born - a story more relevant now than ever.

©2008 James Howard Kunstler (P)2010 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Richly imagined.” ( O, The Oprah Magazine)

“Far from a typical postapocalyptic novel…An impassioned and invigorating tale whose ultimate message is one of hope, not despair.” ( San Francisco Chronicle)

“Brilliant.” ( Chicago Tribune)

good enough

I didnt hate listening to it but there was nothing really to remember about it when I was done. If you like books about nothing, you will love this one.

Must Listen!

Where does World Made by Hand rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10 favorite books. Beautifully written.

What did you like best about this story?

It's not just another dystopian future story with zombies and evil governments (don't get me wrong I like those, too). I love the book's small, simple world and how it is constructed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I wanted it to last longer so one sitting wouldn't work for me.

Any additional comments?

I've listened to this book several times now and it doesn't lose it's charm. It has a super-natural element that blends seamlessly with Kuntsler's hyper-realistic writing style. Some reviewers were distracted by the "old-timey" slang but I thought it furthered the books character and dimension.

Worldwide by Hand

As ALWAYS ...JHK delivers. Captivating, witty, thought provoking story. The reader performed the story quite well and this made a grueling 16 road trip so much better.

World made by hand

Great book ! But I hope we never have to live it in real life.

Revisiting Old Friends

I originally read the print version of this series about a year ago. I became very attached to the little town and all of the folks in it, and felt so sorry when I finished the last book. Listening to the audio version is a great treat as I now get to revisit old friends….☺️.

I highly recommend this series as it provides a very realistic view of how our world could look after the complete breakdown of society as we know it.

Strong concepts, mediocre characters

Strong concepts shine through, characters are here to help put it into a story form.

A Great Read, Especially These Scary Times...

The author immerses you in a familiar place, but different reality. I either lived in, or frequented many of the upstate NY towns he discusses. So the story was brought "home" for me. But regardless of where you are from, you will connect to his very well developed characters. He didn't rely on zombies, aliens, or other hyped up and often unbelievable events. In this book you are simply inserted into a small town, a community of people trying to survive very difficult times. Void of all the modern technology we take for granted in our here-and-now. A gripping and fascinating tour through the daily lives of regular folk who are perhaps twenty years into surviving on their own. No centralized law, government, transportation, or manufacturing. What would YOU do? How would YOU get along if you were a car salesman by trade, but now there was no more cars, fuel, rubber, or even drivable roads? If society as we all know it, no longer existed. How would you eat, what would you drink, how would you get around? This book takes you there. Hey, we are in seriously unstable times right now. In 25 years we really could be (if we are lucky enough to still be alive) one of his characters! Read this book. Learn from this book. Let this book help prepare you for a future none of us want. And/or read it just to see how incredibly creative mankind really is. Yes, we are facing potentially hard times in our real future. But this book gives us hope, and some hints on how to survive and even thrive should the unthinkable ever happen. Kudos to the author. I got much out of his reimagined American society.

Soft core prepper porn

This story basically fetishizes apocalypse. It feels like the author wishes this would happen. There’s no real conflict or drama. Everything wraps up with a bow, except the random insertion of apparently supernatural events toward the end which don’t advance the plot in any way.

It’s a decent adventure yarn, and the performance is excellent, but I don’t recommend it.

World made by hand is a great listen.

This book is very entertaining. Mr Meskimen does a great with the audio.
In a PA world it would seem that there would be less order in the world.

great read

great read. it keeps you coming back for more.
I really enjoyed the realness of it.