There is no record of when the last people disappeared. One day some sheep, hungry and uncared for, drifted into the deserted town. From house to supermarket these creatures ate their way—right into civilization. An abandoned VCR gave access to words, the words to speech, and in turn the speech to reading. Sunglasses and bank accounts were not far behind. The population grew. Politicians and traffic jams soon developed, after which it was a rare sheep who ever again remembered his roots.

Only through the unique vision of David Macaulay could such a story be told, a story with the unmatchable wit yet with bite, a parable about our achievements and our social goals.

From the dust jacket