The World Without Us perspective. Chauncey Mabe of the "South Florida Sun-Sentinel" calls the book "one of the most satisfying environmental books of recent memory, one devoid of self-righteousness, alarmism or tiresome doomsaying". Tom Spears of the CanWest News Service concludes "it's more a portrait of ourselves, taken through an odd lens" and "[s]ometimes an obituary is the best biography". The book is categorized as non-fiction science but some commentators emphasize it may be better described as speculative fiction. "The World Without Us" is grounded in environmental and science journalism. Like other environmental books, it discusses the impact that the human race has had
As the World Turns started a streak of weekly ratings wins that was not interrupted for over 12 years. The show switched to color on August 21, 1967, and expanded from a half-hour in length to one hour starting on December 1, 1975, when "The Edge of Night" moved to ABC. In the year-to-date ratings, "As the World Turns" was the most-watched daytime drama from 1958 until 1978, with ten million viewers tuning in each day. At its height, core actors such as Helen Wagner, Don MacLaughlin, Don Hastings, and Eileen Fulton became nationally known. Three of these actors – Wagner, Hastings, and Fulton