An appreciation of civilisation

A fascinating overview of what you would need to do in order to reboot civilisation after an apocalypse. For example, suppose we experienced a pandemic - pretty far-fetched, right? 😉
Some points:
You've got to be in the mood for it as it goes into some detail about scientific and technical processes.
Some reviewers have complained that it's not the book it claims to be, as it's not literally an instructions manual. I think that's a bit like complaining that Douglas Adams's most famous book does not enable you to actually hitch hike across the galaxy.
John Lee's narration is strongly reminiscent of the public information broadcasts from when a nuclear war was looking very likely.
At times it's a little frustrating because I really wanted some diagrams to illustrate the text. A PDF of further reading would be appreciated.
Anyone planning on writing a post apocalyptic novel would be well advised to check this out. It's actually an excellent primer for world building in general.
It gives a real appreciation of humanity's achievements, a real Wow! feeling.
It's largely optimistic, but does not ignore the darker side of human nature.

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Very interesting and well thought out

The author has put a lot of work into thinking about what tools a civilisation would need in order to survive the apocalypse. That being said, this isn't a how to guide for the reader (for the most part). It is more of a guide for your ancestors once the ready supplies of our industrial world run out. An enjoyable read and a real chemistry lesson for me.

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In case of an emergency

Would you consider the audio edition of The Knowledge to be better than the print version?

I think so yes, as it is wonderfully narrated and the effect and drama is brought through in the audible version.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

John Lee brings the drama and feel to the subject of this book. Really putting you in the situation of having to survive in the post-apocalypse. Am I fully prepared for what comes after an all out war? Probably not, but I now know how to start a fire without a lighter, or how to PH balance the earth to grow some potatoes! A good listen, I did so enjoy.

Any additional comments?

I would go through parts of this again definitely.

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3 people found this helpful

Needed to be written, fascinating to read.

For some reason, I've lain awake at night on more than one occasion worrying about the prospect of modern civilization being destroyed, and wondering - "What would we need to know to get back on our feet"?

Fortunately, it seems people more scientifically knowledgeable than me have also contemplated this question. Professor Dartnell has managed to produce a book that would not only be literally priceless in the event we ever were sent back to the stone-age: but which is also (for a book that consists mostly of descriptions of various technologies and scientific processes) amazingly compelling reading. One realizes how many things are taken for granted in our modern world, which required an extraordinary evolution of multiple developments and refinements.

He has obviously given a great deal of thought as to what the key discoveries are, but also understands which technologies will need to laboriously recreated in set-stages, each one laying the groundwork for the next: and which could be "leap-frogged" to get to the end product quickly. (I didn't know for example that you could have made a basic camera in Tudor times if you had only known how)

He also identifies the key bottle-necks that have historical restricted our development, and how we could overcome them. Taking the reader from the day after "the end of the world", right the way through to a couple of centuries later, with each new limitation being addressed in the likely order it would emerge.

If I were king of the world, there would be a copy of this in every house on the planet. Just in case. . . . . .


The narrator is pretty good too. Despite his truly extraordinary rendition of the word "Sarajevo".

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An interesting book that I found slowed later

Overall I'm glad I listened to this. It contains many little gems, a favourites among which were learning how food preservation actually works. Thst said, it should be obvious that this book is for those who find such things potentially interesting. It's too long for the more 'conventional' tidbits of information to sustain your interest.

My main complaint with the book is that I found much of the chemistry chapters and the later chapters on navigation and measurement tedious.. This might be because I have some background in physics and chemistry. The author also goes into quite painstaking detail, considering that this is a book for a general audience. Regardless, the aforementioned tidbits sustained me here for the most part.

The narration is perfectly good, if a little slow in places.

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7 people found this helpful

This is such an important way to think

You're probably best off buying the hard back as well, to be ready for the end of the world

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2 people found this helpful

Well-researched

This book is packed with information and is thought-provoking. It's broad in scope and tries to cover a lot of ground - arguably too much. I would've liked to have seen either more practical detail on applying technology to aid survival and the reconstruction of civilisation or more discussion of the philosophical side - for example, nothing is said about how a post-apocalyptic society would avoid repeating the same mistakes which had led to the “fall” in the first place. If the accelerated “reboot” the book aims for were to take place, this would seem a serious risk. What alternative forms could future societies or civilisations take, and what roles could technology perform in them?

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Couldn't finish it

I did manage over 4 hours, but it was so tedious I had to stop. Given the subject, it would be so easy to inject a bit of humour, but it was like listening to someone reading a Haynes Manual... with having the decent information actually in one

Dull, boring and pointless. My first real disappointment on Audible

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3 people found this helpful