Required Summer Reading
Accepted Undergraduate Students

Welcome to ESF! We are looking forward to your participation in the academic community. We are a diverse community of scientists, activists, engineers, writers and landscape architects, yet we share the common goal of exploring and protecting the natural environment. In order to provide common ground for discussions among diverse disciplines, all new students at ESF are required to complete a reading assignment during the summer before arriving on campus (you will need to purchase over the summer).

This year, the ESF summer reading book will be: The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. You can order the book through your local bookstore or from any of the online bookstores such as amazon.com. For more information on the book please visit worldwithoutus.com.

In September, you will be asked to attend a campus-wide discussion of Weisman's book. To prepare for that discussion, we suggest that you take notes in some way. You could underline and wrote notes in the margins of the book, you could make an outline on a pad of paper, or you could keep a computer file in which you take note of what you think are the most thought-provoking ideas in the book.

What would happen to New York City if the human race were to suddenly disappear from existence? How would nature respond to the absence of humans? How would the would evolve without us? These and other questions are posed by Alan Weisman in his thought provoking non-fiction work. You can also read the essay that preceded the book at the Discover Magazine website.

We look forward to talking more about this exciting book when you arrive on campus!