World Made by Hand
World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler, published by Grove Press in 2009, is a first edition work of speculative fiction that explores a future America shaped by the decline of oil production and climate change. Set in the fictional town of Union Grove, New York, the narrative presents a world where transportation is perilous, and local food production is a labor-intensive necessity. The story unfolds in a landscape marked by abandoned infrastructure and a society grappling with the consequences of environmental and economic upheaval.
Readers will find a richly detailed portrayal of life in a transformed America, where the remnants of industrial civilization are juxtaposed with a return to simpler, more sustainable practices. The narrative delves into the complexities of human relationships amid challenges such as food scarcity and societal uncertainty. Themes of environmental conservation and the impact of nature on daily life are woven throughout the text, offering a thought-provoking glimpse into a dystopian future. With 336 pages, this edition invites readers to reflect on the implications of our current trajectory and the resilience of communities in the face of adversity.
Official synopsis Publisher
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. For the townspeople of Union Grove, New York, the future is nothing like they thought it would be. 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. Their 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. With the cost of oil skyrocketing–and with it the price of food–Kunstler’s extraordinary book, full of love and loss, violence and power, sex and drugs, depression and desperation, but also plenty of hope, is more relevant than ever.
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