Alas, Babylon

Alas, Babylon

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03  ·  rating details  ·  14,460 ratings  ·  1,323 reviews
The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the nation with its vivid portrayal of a small town's survival after nuclear holocaust devastates the country.
Mass Market Paperback, 279 pages
Published March 1977 by Bantam Books (first published 1959)
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Stephen
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NuclearWar-1v2

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4.5 to 5.0 stars. I think the above pictures and quotes express a lot better than my words ever could what I would like to say in this review about the power and eloquence of Pat Frank's 1959 story about the folly and danger of Nuclear war. I can not imagine a better novel about the immediate after-effects of a global nuclear war than what is presented here.

True, the fact that anyone is left alive after the war does tend to make the novel anachronistic. But since, a “war begins and everyone i...more
Jon
Apr 01, 2013 Jon added it  ·  review of another edition
Recommended to Jon by: Valerie Neer
4 stars.

Not even my review could survive Amazon's nuclear strike against GoodReads. Remnants reside at my blog: http://bit.ly/16rwwxf
Jim
Review May2013 Reading again with the "Books, Movies, TV and Life" group. It's been 4 years since I last read this. That's more often than I probably should, but I'll see how it goes.

Frank provides a very short introduction to the novel that is interesting. He was a journalist & had more than a passing knowledge of our strategic thinking of the time. His Wikipedia entry is quite brief.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Frank

I was born the year this novel came out, yet the times & mind set...more
Florence MacIntosh
May 17, 2013 Florence MacIntosh rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of our planet and the continuation of the human race
Recommended to Florence by: Jim MacLachlan
Shelves: sci-fi, lit-usa, 2013, reviewed, war
Published in 1959 the classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world! Late to the party I’ve read very little classic Sci-Fi, a wonderful introduction. Bit of a slow build-up but persevere, not until the bomb drops does it really get interesting. Then it’s all action played out by a diverse group of characters, plenty worthy of rooting for. Because she shared my name I couldn’t help but love the gossipy old biddy that worked for Western Union & new everybody's business. "Florence is a gupp...more
Deellen
This is a letter I wrote to our family after reading this book. This book definitely gives you a lot to think about even if there isn't a nuclear holocaust, we could definitely find ourselves without resources for a number of other reasons. The people in the book had done no planning ahead, but managed to adapt. I think it is important to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Thus came the letter I drafted for our family....

Our Dearest Family,

Current events have given us a good reason to sto...more
Kelly
"The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world" is across the front cover of this book. It was written in 1959 when fear of the atomic bomb was all-encompassing so I can only imagine how stunned people were to read this book when it came out.

The last apocalyptic novel I read was The Road and it was incredibly depressing. This one wasn't...while at times this book was chilling, it was filled with goodness and hope. In fact, it was a mirror image of the way I've always pictured things woul...more
Alissa
This book was published in 1959, and it feels like it every step of the way. The plot is compelling enough, but the writing is incredibly wooden. I actually laughed out loud at some of the passages, and not in a nice way. The author drags us through 100 pages of rising action, which is annoying because it adds nothing to the plot, and we all know the bomb is going to hit before we even read the blurb on the back cover.

The racism and sexism is also pretty terrible. Even after the freakin' nuclea...more
Jackie
Considering it was published in 1959, it's held up very well. I can see the events of the book and their consequences happening in such a way if the unthinkable were to happen today. People don't change much.
Alas, Babylon is a compelling read, drawing me into the central characters' lives and making me care what happens to them. For a post-apocalyptic novel, it wasn't all doom and gloom; some opportunistic thugs but far more good people working together to survive as a community. The author is...more
Kevin
How would react to no electricity, no food at the grocery store, no sanitation, and no clean water? Could you survive?

Paranoid? You may be after you read this book. Written in 1959, Frank captures, at least I think he captures, the mood of many US citizens during the heart of the Cold War. In elementary school I remember having to hide under desk, with my hands behind my head and knees pulled up to my chest. I remember that the Russians didn't like the Americans and didn't come to the Olympics i...more
Sandi
I read "Alas, Babylon" during a vacation to Mammoth at the end of August, 2005. We had no TV, no newspapers and no radio for 4 days. When we got home, we learned about the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. As I watched news reports about the aftermath, I kept thinking back to the incidents in this book. It was just a bit spooky and it made me realize how unprepared I am for a major disaster. It also made me wonder if it's even possible to be truly prepared for a disaster. Maybe it's your...more
Valerie
Dec 23, 2008 Valerie rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommended to Valerie by: Mom
I read this when I was 10 or 11 because my mother believed that if I was physically capable of reading the words, I could read whatever books she had. I was terrified of nuclear war for the next five years. I'm actually still terrified by the idea, but I've learned to live with the fear. It would probably seem dated now, but it was a well done book when I read it.
Hugh Forte
I liked it. A quick, easy read, and an interesting look into the socio-political fabric of Cold War era, small-town America.

What struck me most about this book (and perhaps because of it's shining reviews), was that the majority of the book carried little emotional impact, stemming from a lack of conflict. One could argue that the setting of world wide nuclear destruction is conflict enough (which for the audience this was published for in 1959, it surely was), but the lack of smaller scale, ch...more
Mary JL
Feb 13, 2011 Mary JL rated it 3 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone interested in politic or history or a story of human survival
Shelves: main-sf-fantasy
This was probably one of the very first "end of the world" novels I read and it is still one of the best.

At the very end, one characters asks "Who won?" and another replied "why, we did" and "turned to begin the thousand year night". So much for winning a nuclear war.

Very scary and depressing, and unfortunately all to real on what life would be like after a nuclear exchange.
Ron
Good, well-written. Stands the test of fifty years of Cold Wars (and Cold War apocalypses) since.

Might have quibbles about how Frank got World War Three started and the unlikely advances his group of survivors had, but even he acknowledged that most folks in similar circumstances wouldn't have made it. Fifty years later, I'd guess most Americans are much less able to cope with having the society we depend on ripped away.

Big disagreement with his closing sentence. Even that "modern" second-world...more
Michael
UPDATED below--in honor of a GR reading group

A satisfying account of a community surviving a nuclear Holocaust in isolation from the rest of the world. It was written in 1959, so it set a precedent for all the apocalypse literature that followed. Instead of the perhaps more plausible temporary survival of human society in Nevil Chute's "On the Beach", this tale of a rural central Florida community blessed with favorable winds on the day the missiles fly makes the story one of a successful long...more
Parajunkee.com
In my further quest for Post-Apocalyptic goodness my frequent Google searches led me to another book, ALAS, BABYLON. What is more apocalyptic than nuclear war? This is a man made disaster, so much more tragic than anything that Mother Nature could do not us. I was eager to read and my eagerness paid off. This is a classic gem that came out in the 50s but still holds fervor in today’s chaotic political climate. The Cold War might be over, but a lunatic with a nuclear warhead is still just as scar...more
Tani
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Kelly
Now I know what's meant by a "cozy catastrophe."

Alas, Babylon was probably a lot more frightening in the Cold War era when it was a huge bestseller, but we're wiser now. We know what nuclear fallout can do. We've seen and read apocalypses that are far more bleak --and realistic.

While the bombing of the US is by no means a fun scenario, the main characters in Alas, Babylon, with some work, see their lives improved post-catastrophe. By the end, the neighborhood is practically Utopian.

The book is...more
Brandi
I've now read this book twice. It's a quick read, and I've enjoyed it both times.

This book speaks of hope that exist beyond terrible tragedy. People can be cruel, and yet those who choose to can survive and live a life of service and caring. It's thought provoking. What would you do if your government couldn't help or didn't exist at all? Would you take charge? Would you help those you could, or always be looking out for yourself? What about public rules? Would they just disappear? What about if...more
Minay
Jan 16, 2008 Minay rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: all thoughtful people
Good book written early in the cold war days about what would happen in case if a nuclear attack. The author shows that even with advance notice, people did not prepare adequately, but that some preparation is better than none. The story is interesting because it looks into a future time that has already passed for us. We get to compare his imagination with our reality. After reading this book, you will have a better idea of how to prepare for an emergency, the problems disaster victims face, an...more
Rachel
Some ideas I got from this book.

1. People will react to a crisis depending on their foundation: some will rise to the occassion, some will turn to evil and some will simply opt out because they can't face the challenge.

2. The teachings and concepts of Christianity aren't dependent on prosperity and peace to endure. In fact, they have their greatest hour in times of trial and crisis.

3. Barter is a legitimate form of trade, and it is a good idea to ahve a skill that can be bartered.

4. Acquire life...more
Jenn Myers
Apr 27, 2007 Jenn Myers rated it 2 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: end of the world enthusiast, classical readers
I picked this book up because both Liz and Eve read it, and I'm a sheep like that.

The first third of the book is waiting for the horrors of nuclear war to happen, and then the last two thirds are about how, with enough American Ingenuity, Johnny American can survive the best that those dirty Ivans can throw at us! Hurrah!

So. Even though I found the book painfully dated, (it was written in 1959,) it was an easy enough read, with likable enough characters, and some truly stunning scenes where I ha...more
Jen
This book is based on the cold war. The US is bombed and disabled. A small town in Florida survives, but is surrounded by radioactive cities. They come together as neighbors and friends and survive.
This book made me think of things that I need in case of an emergency.
I read it quite fast.
Andrew
I'm surprised this book hasn't become more popular with the birth (and re-birth) of the CBS show Jericho, which borrows both premise and key conflicts from Pat Frank's novel.

In the midst of the Cold War, Frank wrote this novel in part to depict what exactly MAD entailed. His protagonist, Randy Bragg, struggles to hold onto his neighborhood and some semblance of civilization in the wake of a nuclear exchange between Russia and the US. Shortly after its publication, Alas, Babylon was handed out to...more
Christina White
I thought that Alas, Babylon was a good read. It deserves 3.5 stars. I found the beginning and some other parts that contained a lot of war lingo to be very slow and uniteresting. I think if I was a little more familiar with the terms and names of certain divisions of military I might have been able to follow it better. I was very satisfied with the execution of the Highway men and the marriage between Randy and Elizabeth. I wish Frank would have created a love trianble between Hellen, the docot...more
Sarah
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Linda
I finally got to the classic of apocalyptic novels and found it very good. Nuclear war erupts between Russia and the US. A small town in Florida is the location of the story. In the first aftermath of the Day, things are very chaotic and many die. Next comes learning to survive without electricity, medicine, phones, radios, TV, and cars. Suddenly the library is popular, not only for entertainment but for the information necessary to survive.

The book's presentation of racial issues and women's r...more
Francis Gahren
My Take

I read this in my early teens when the Cold War was in full bloom – very realistic and a much different perspective when you think it actually may happen at any time. My Social Studies teacher was a retired Air Force major, Fred Rowan, and he told us (several times) that within 15 minutes the whole world could be a nuclear wasteland – great stuff to tell young people.

In any case, I enjoyed reading this again in a different age (mine and society’s). Recently, there has been a re-emergence...more
Katy
Alas, Babylon is a classic apocalyptic story written and set in 1959. The Cold War terminates in a Russian nuclear attack on the U.S., destroying much of the country and leaving survivors to learn how to live in a harsh new world. It was a bit of a slow start (the author enjoys technical war strategy a bit too much in my opinion), but once the attack happens, I became so invested in the main characters, wanting them to survive. Eerie and realistic, I found myself wondering if a society that wasn...more
Jen
I'm enjoying vintage apocalypse novels lately. It started with Earth Abides by George Stewart (1949). Alas, Babylon (1959) takes place in a small town in late 1950s Florida. The cold war turns very hot and most US cities are suddenly destroyed in an attack by the Soviets. The story highlights how ill prepared individuals and the government were, despite the threat of nuclear devastation that had loomed for years. A tribe forms of friends and stragglers, adjusting to a new world of scavenging, hu...more
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Alas, Babylon (Paperback)
Alas, Babylon  (Paperback)
Alas, Babylon (Paperback)
Alas Babylon (Mass Market Paperback)
Alas, Babylon (Paperback)

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"Pat Frank" was the lifelong nickname adopted by the American writer, newspaperman, and government consultant, who was born Harry Hart Frank (1908-1964), and who is remembered today almost exclusively for his post-apocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon. Before the publication of his first novel Mr. Adam launched his second career as novelist and independent writer, Frank spent many years as a journalist...more
More about Pat Frank...
Mr. Adam Forbidden Area Hold Back The Night Rendezvous At Midway: U.S.S. Yorktown And The Japanese Carrier Fleet (Paperback Library) The Long Way Round

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“ 'I think you ought to go to New York or Chicago or San Francisco or any city with character and vitality. You should go to work. This place is no good for you, Randy. The air is like soup and the people are like noodles. You're vegetating. I don't want a vegetable. I want a man.' " - Lib McGovern” 8 people liked it
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