Chapter 5: Before the existence of man on the North American continent, there were many other species that exceeded the the average size of mammals today. Most were about the size of a now-extinct mammoth, which was a little bigger than an elephant. But we were also home to such animals as giant sloths weighing more than fourteen thousand pounds. Thomas Jefferson had a huge fascination with large prehistoric animals. One of the reasons he sent Lewis and Clark off to search the land was to see if they could find large animals like the giant sloth.  Many people think that the ice age killed off most of these mammals, however this can't be true because they would have responded the same way that humans did- by moving south to warmer weather. The only other hypothesis is that man started to kill off the larger animals for the sole reason that they were bigger. They were easier to kill and provided humans with enough meat to last a while.

Chapter 6: In this chapter, "The African Paradox," Weisman explains about digs in eastern Africa. The digs show that 992,000 to 493,000 years ago, a lake in the Great Riff Valley was once inhabited by humans. This suggests that with the change of land use, human traces can be covered up. But traces can be discovered, as archaeologists have found tools made out of animal bones. But the world without them in this area has changed almost back to normal, resuming it's natural state before man arrived.

Chapter 7: After a civil war ended on the island of Cyprus, many buildings were either destroyed or evacuated. The results of this abandonment were animals taking over buildings and plants growing out of sand blown in from the neighboring beach. All of the features built by humans on this island are being demolished, not by any manmade force, but by nature. It will take a long time, but the end result will be an island that is free of anything that is related to man.

Chapter 8: Many years ago in the time of the Roman Empire, buildings were open and were made out of concrete. If struck by an earthquake, the buildings would remain intact because the pillars were so strong that the building didn't fall. Today it is a different story. Many buildings are being built on top of old foundations that were meant for one story stores or restaurants. The weight of the buildings crushes the foundation during an earthquake.
In this chapter, Weisman also talks about how Istanbul wants to create a subway system that will link Europe and Asia. But during a dig, archaeologists discovered ancient tunnels dug out of tuff, which is a soft volcanic rock. These tunnels show that even before modern technologies, ancient civilizations could connect underground cities together for protection from enemies.

Chapter 9: While doing research on the coast of Great Britain, one scientist found tiny plastic beads in the sand. After examining and researching, they found that these beads come from soaps and shampoos that contain the marketed "bacteria fighting pellets." After washing these pellets down the drain, they eventually make their way to the ocean where more than 5.5 quadrillion or 250 billion pounds of pellets are floating. These beads are swallowed by krill and plankton, clogging their intestines and killing them. This destroys natural earth processes because the whole food chain begins with these little sea creatures.

Chapter 10: Tires from old cars are made from a polymer called elastomer. This polymer is a material that was not created by nature, nor has nature created a microbe that is able to destroy it. Tires can be recycled and made into something else, but if they aren't they will last forever. In our lifetime almost one trillion tires will be put out of use and they will sit there until an organism is created. The only way for nature to create an organism is for the tires to be out in the sunlight so photosynthesis can take place.