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Alas, Babylon

Alas, Babylon

List Price: $11.00
Your Price: $8.25
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sad But Heroic
Review: "Alas, Babylon" tells the story of a small town in Florida right after nuclear war accidentally breaks out between America and the Soviet Union. If full-scale nuclear war had occurred, the novel is not realistic, as it minimizes the global damage. "On the Beach" depicts that sceranio better. But, if a limited, quickly aborted war occurred, "Alas, Babylon" becomes all too realistic. Such a "small" nuclear war is now more likely than a global nuclear war, with the changes in the former Soviet Union and the upsurge in state-sponsored terrorism.

In "Alas, Babylon" basic survival becomes the first goal of the now-isolated Florida town, with a rebuilding of an economy and a social structure addressed next. The characters are believable, the story flows well, and the reader is left with the impression that he/she has been to this place and met these people.

Like "On the Beach", "Alas, Babylon" takes humanity's worst-case scenario and moves forward with it. When I was a child, a global nuclear war did not seem implausible. It now seems less likely, but who can say after 9/11/01? Read "Alas, Babylon" and think. Hopefully, this story will forever remain fiction.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A good read
Review: This is the only book I really enjoyed in high school 14 years ago, and I plan on reading it again. For those who haven't read it yet, the title plays an interesting role in the book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brilliant work
Review: I read this years ago, but I still think about the universal lessons therein almost daily. Powerful stuff, presented in a very readable format.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Greats of PostApocalyptic Fiction
Review: A classic, if somewhat dated, novel of a post-nuclear-war America. The characters are believable, the situation is believable, and the survival tactics are believable. A great read!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Here's to the end of the world!
Review: This is a classic, and it deserves the praise it's received. Even so, it's a rather romanticized portrait of what the country might be like after nuclear war. Only a few months after "The Day" (their code for the day the bombs were dropped virtually all over the world), our valient heroes are managing quite well, with running water, plenty of food, and few problems (the biggest among these is an attack on the only remaining doctor in town, which leaves him without his medical bag and glasses -- somehow facing the future without glasses doesn't seem quite the challenge I would imagine after WWIII). The book is fast-paced and well-written, and the characters are likeable enough. I question only the rosy vision. But you'll feel good at the end, and the hopeful viewpoint is refreshing, in spite of the doubts it leaves in my own mind.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A more believable scenario.
Review: One of the best attributes of this book is the fact that it has a more believable plot than most nuclear war/apocalyptic sci-fi scenarios, whether it be classic or modern. In the event of a nuclear exchange during the cold war (or today for that matter), the result would most likely not be annihilation of life on Earth. This is a much more believable scenario; survivors in the non-irradiated areas and a continued fight, mainly at sea, between the US and Russia, with a small emergency government made up of the surviving Washington officials.

The book goes on to chronicle the struggle for survival in a small Florida town that happens to survive, and the constant challenges they face.

Another realistic but less optimistic scenario is that of A Canticle for Liebowitz, by Walter M. Miller.

Hopefully, we won't have to test the accuracy of these.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Interesting view of the war that never was
Review: Pat Frank wrote this book in response to someone speculating on a nuclear war with Russians and what it would be like. The book that came out of it was a very interesting look at what life after the war could be like. It embodies the tension of the 50s and a very different lifestyle. Readers today will find it interesting for the study of the different social dynamics and culture. Plus, it is a well written story that provides interesting insight into how things could have been and, of course, the ironic ending.

Well worth the time it takes to read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Review
Review: This was a very good book. I have read it about 15 times in less than a month. This book almost predicted what i think world war 3 will be like. I would tell any teenager to read this book. it is kind of too old for a 7th grader or younger but anyone over 13 years of age should love this book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: This book has really makes you think about the issues in today's world.I mean, what if we went into nuclear war and you survived?How would you get by? Areally great book

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than what I could have been reading
Review: I had to read this book for my sophomore English class. Being a forced read, I thought that it would be yet another, dull, dreary book written by someone who was probably dead. For once, I can say that I'm glad I was wrong. This book was very well written and though out. The events that take place in this story are plausable. In some ways some of the events that occur in Alas, Babylon have been demonstrated in real life on a smaller scale. (Rioting in the food and water line after a flood, earthquake, hurricane, etc. in Central America) This book is a very good read for the price. I reccomend it highly.


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