Earth Abides - Dystopias and Apocalypses - Extra Sci Fi

The Cold War prompted science fiction to take a turn from the darkness of humanity, to the end of humanity itself. Earth Abides is a keystone novel at this turning point, exploring the viewpoint of a lost hiker who returns to his California residence to find that humanity is gone... and yet, is rebuilding.
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♪ Music: "Hypothetical" by Surasshu

[extrahistory]

Earth Abides revolves around humankind nearly being wiped out not by atomics, but by
plague. It brings in to sci-fi the post-war question of whether an ever increasing human population is truly sustainable. But perhaps more important to the history of sci-fi, it’ll ask a question that is almost a cliché in science
fiction today, but was nearly unexplored at the time: the question of how you rebuild after a collapse.

[HandmadeGoose]

This series really ties the channel together

[JeremiahNanninga]

I'm enjoying the implication that Robert Walpole causes the Apocalypse.

[silvertheelf]

Tribe = beginning of city
Stone = beginning of technology
Primitive knowledge = beginning of advanced knowledge
History = future

[alexcarter]

Here's a mind-blower: I grew up hearing about how the Indians up in the Andes were primitive because they never invented the wheel. Well it turns out they never *needed* to.

[PariahEarth]

"You can call me the Earth or His Earthness or El Eartharino if you're not into the whole brevity thing."

[Crosis]

And the message came, “ ALAS, BABYLON”! and The Postman rose into the thousand year night, and the vultures feasted that season.

[patrickblanchette]

For a post-apocalyptic story, Earth Abides is very optimistic!

[mystuff]

I stumbled across this book in my father‘s library in July 2020. As a non-native speaker it caught my attention because I couldn’t get its title to make sense at first. Read it in full that same day. Even though I would say there‘s actually not that much happening in the book I have seldom read a book that has gripped me as much…

[gargoyles]

Earth: Yeah well, that's just, like your opinion man.

[commmander]

3:28 that is literally a concept I never heard of today. I need more of that very untouched idea.

[rbdriftin]

Earth Abides is one of my all-time favourite novels. Just gorgeous.

[AllSeeingEy]

PostApocalyptia will be lost if they fail to remember the lessons of Walpole...

[cuniving]

The protagonist and his wife has to be one of the earliest examples of a positive interracial relationship in relatively mainstream media that I can think of in America during that era.

[psycologo]

I love Fallout, so I am always interested in learning where all the ideas got their start.

[chickensforthechickengod]

Extra credits vid?
*[surprised picka-*
Wait oh god no PIKACHU

[ScoffMathews]

I like all of your series, but extra sci-fi is by far my favorite and the one that inspires me to read all of the books.

[kaydenvera]

Knowing our problems with Linear A I fear that not teaching a generation about reading or writing would somehow make everyone forget the english alphabet.

[IchigoGyuunyu]

I'd be curious to see you cover "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" if ya wanna get really bleak.

[hiddenhist]

I’m amazed at how many good videos you all have been able to make from this series on science fiction!!!