Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85913 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Perfect storytelling, simple but so so effective
Nuclear war viewed through the eyes of a small isolated Florida community.

It seemed to me from reading the blurb that any story that didn't move location in its entirety must be somewhat lacking in its lasting appeal to the reader. Oh how I was wrong.

First off, I am a big sucker for this kind of apolcalyptic tale, stories where a small group of people watch society fall apart around them are perfect for portraying not only the often overlooked fragility of modern life but also the inherent animal strength of mankind forced to survive in a world torn apart.

Because of this Alas Babylon is one of my favourite ever novels, vying with the Day of the Triffids for that crown but where that story is fantastical and science fiction this is oh so real and chillingly possible.

I could go on for pages praising this book and its author but I won't! Suffice to say, this is an incredible novel. Not for fantastical settings or powerful character dynamics but for the simple and yet effective style in which it illustrates the world we know (albeit a somewhat old fashioned world) being blown apart and an average guy striving to look after those he loves.

For anyone who ever looked at the world around them and thought... What if? What if suddenly everything we rely on and base ourselves on was stripped away. Would I survive? Read it and find out.

Worth a look........
'Alas, Babylon' is a novel that falls into the post disaster category, being about a Florida community trying to survive the aftermath of a nuclear war. It could be acccused of being a 'cosy catastrophe' - despite a continental holocaust little really bad happens to the main character and he actually seems to benefit from the experience in many ways. However, it is well written and since it was originally published in 1959 it gives an insight into the politics and societial structures of the time. If (like me) you've enjoyed the catastrophe literature of John Wyndham and John Christopher it's certainly worth a look......pity about the really flimsy covers of this edition though........

Alas, Babylon - Pat Frank
I first read this book when I was twelve or thirteen, some thirty
odd years ago, and have read that original copy to peices over the years,(literally). Its story of the survival of one small town in Florida, in the afermath of a nuclear war is unfortunately as timely and poiniant today as it was back in the 1960's when I first read it. Today's worldwide political situations come to mind. I would recomend the reading of this book, for not only is it thought provocing, but its also a terrific storey.