WHEN THE WIND BLOWS

Rating:
Summary: Please buy this book!
Review: At a time when we all need to know more, and to know it not just through our intellect but through our emotional and personal dimensions as well, how can it be that this book is out of print?
Raymond Briggs has a deft and provocative hand, a poignant and powerful voice. An artist of his calibre should be able to challenge us and he needs a publisher who will continue to nurture ALL that he has to offer to children, to adults, to the world.

Rating:
Summary: So, this is a Holocaust....
Review: Brilliant! I'm amazed that this subject has not been the focus of other writers in this format. Whilst some may argue that such topics should be severely censored in storybook form, it must be seen as a necessary evil to relate to contemporary (and future) youth the very real prospect of the inevitable realities of nuclear war, we do them no favours by sheltering them (no pun intended) from that which appears possible in the foreseeable future. Let's hope we see more of this in the future (whatever that may be....).

Rating:
Summary: Please buy this book!
Review: Raymond Briggs here presents us with a disarmingly gentle, warm, humorous graphic novel, about a regular blue collar couple trying to understand, and to prepare for, the ultimate catastrophe.

This touching little book came out in the early 80s, when there was a sharp spike in international public awareness of the dangers of nuclear warfare. Due largely to Ronald Reagan's hawkish presidency, people were much more fearful of this looming prospect -- and, of course, rightly so. Reading this reminds me of 1981, when I was in eighth grade, and tensions over Poland were so severe that I recall becoming a regular fixture at our local library, reading and reading, trying helplessly to understand all the forces which, it seemed, were conspiring to destroy us all.

The really touching thing, about the couple portrayed in this book, is that they are normal people. Almost completely uninformed about the world, their mental picture of the world is shaped by a haze of half-remembered patriotic propaganda that is decades out of date, and was heavily distorted to begin with. Their efforts to prepare for a nuclear attack are so pathetic that you would laugh, if you weren't already busy crying.

Those weapons are still out there. This book is important. Everyone should read it. If you half-suspect that you yourself might be slightly un-informed about nuclear war issues, I would like to recommend that you seek out "The New Nuclear Danger," by Dr. Helen Caldicott. It just came out in 2002, and includes a fantastic bibliography which could help you understand nuclear winter, medical effects of fallout, and current weapon stockpiles. There is also a great collection of relevant websites, which we should all be a lot more familiar with.... if you'd like to communicate you concern to your kids with another illustrated book, aimed at a younger audience, I would like to recommend "Hiroshima No Pika," by Toshi Maruki.

You may also like to seek out "Threads," a tremendous docudrama on nuclear war done in consultation with Carl Sagan, in 1984. "Threads" is out of print, except in the UK, but you can find it on the largest online auction houses if you put the terms "threads" and "nuclear" in the search field.

So, if you know anyone who actually went out and bought duct tape in February, 2003, I would like to recommend that you sit down with them, and spend an hour leafing through this horrifying book. Two miserable thumbs way, way, way up.

Rating:
Summary: How true it is!
Review: This book makes a strong political statement that everyone needs to hear. This is what will happen if we continue to believe everything the government tells us and we stop thinking for ourselves. Who wants to survive the nuclear holocaust if we are doomed to die slowly on a poisoned planet earth? If you love this book like I do, you may want to find a copy of the video/movie to rent. It is just as compelling to watch as it is to read. Any Pink Floyd fan will want to hear the music by Roger Waters which never made it to an album.

If you want to read another story about post-nuclear war, try On the Beach by Nevil Shute.

Rating:
Summary: A tragi-comic look at World War III.
Review: This is one of the most moving books I've ever read on the subject of nuclear warfare, and the story is told in comic book format. Simply but beautifully illustrated, the story is touching, funny, and horrifying at the same time. It humanizes a very inhuman concept.

Rating:
Summary: Get the right version
Review: This review is for ISBN 057311496X which I bought thinking that it was the illustrated version. This book is a play adapted from the original, although you would have no way of knowing from the online description. There are many different editions of this wonderful book so be careful that you order the right one.

Rating:
Summary: A book whic you will not forget.
Review: When one talks about Raymond briggs they think about the snowman or father Christmas. Now i am am older, the name briggs makes me think or two books, the Iron Lady. A book whick was frightfully true. adn this, When the wind blows.

I first saw the film for this when i was around 9 years old, i was ten and my dad has always though that thinks dsuch as these were very informative. Another example would be Animal Farm by Orwell. This film did make some strong opinions and i find it diffcult to forget them now. Just one week agao i was watching the news about the devastation in the US and the one thought whcih came into my head was of this film. What if we did have a 3rd world war?? remebering this film made me scared as i have never knwn of a direct war with Britain as i was only a baby in the falklands and this book, whether it was aimed at Children or not, is a very compelling tale. Which it has been of no surpise that it is near impossible to buy in any format another example of government intervention as illustrated in this marvelous book.

Rating:
Summary: This book MUST return to print
Review: When the Wind Blows is a classic of modern literature. It's one of the all-time best books I've ever read and it's tragic that it's been allowed to fall out of print. Get a used copy. Track it down. Look for it misfiled in the children's section...it's an illustrated book but it definitely isn't kiddie fare. When the Wind Blows is wonderful, just wonderful.