Rating: 
Summary: A true classic!
Review: "Alas, Babylon", written over 40 years ago, is as fresh and frightening now as it was then. Because it has stood the test of time and "reads" as well for the first generation of the 21st Century as it did for the Cold War generation, it has my seal of approval as a true classic. The characterization is excellent and believable. You really find yourself pulling for these people. The book is well-researched and militarily accurate. It is obvious that the author, Pat Frank, really did his homework. As the true "granddad" of the apocalyptic genre', "Alas, Babylon" set the stage for later works in this area, such as, "The Stand", "Lucifer's Hammer" and "Warday". And, by the way, does anyone else find it coincidental that the protagionist in this book was named Randy Bragg, yet the villain in "The Stand" was named Randall Flagg? I think Stephen King liked this book as well! Highly recommended; you'll find yourself wishing that it wasn't over so quickly!
Rating:
Summary: An unforgettable book, for those of us who remember
Review: This is a novel of a post-nuclear-holocaust world in the United States. At the time it was written (and I first read it), the scenario depicted in it was a real threat. People were building bomb shelters in their back yards. I considered it, but did not because I knew enough to realize that such measures were futile. The protagonist, Randy Bragg, moves his family to the small Florida town of Fort Repose when he realizes that a nuclear attack is imminent. The book, though, is not primarily about the military aspects, or science, or fighting back. It is about survival of the people after the attack has destroyed the infrastructure of society and anarchy reigns, and how they cope with it. Contrary to the opinion of many, it is not science fiction. It is an attempt to warn people who lived at the time it was written, and such an attack was a real possibility, what problems they would face if and when it occured. The characters are well-drawn, the situations realistic and well-thought-out, and the subject was of immediate interest--in fact, its possibility haunted us all, in those days. In point of fact, it is the kind of situation that could, even today, follow any major natural disaster or terrorist act which would disrupt the normal functions of government and the operations of public utilities, resulting in anarchy and the "law of the jungle." When one reads the criticism of today's high school child, that it was a "boring" story, it demonstrates how far we have come since those days of the cuban missile crisis, for example, when I worked fifty miles from home, and worried when I went to work that I might be separated from my family, including my wife and five young children, by a nuclear strike and not see them again. In those days, it was a real possibility, likely to occur at any moment, and we all knew it. It was not boring. It was a daily, living nightmare. This book made the same impact on me, when I first read it, as Nevil Shute's book, On the Beach. At the time I read them, I prayed that they did not reflect the future, but thought they might. It was a time I'm glad we've passed through, and that modern children cannot remember or sympathize with. But a time we should not forget. This is easily a five-star book, but it clearly does not have the impact today that it had when it was written. Joseph Pierre, USN (Ret)
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, but not what I had in mind.
Review: Alas, Babylon is a decent but rather slow-paced tale about the days before and the months after a nuclear war between the US and USSR. Pat Frank's book is good enough for what it is -- a story of survival in the immediate aftermath of nuclear conflict. Frank tells a tale of runs on grocery stores, the end of electric power, the emergence of a barter economy, and the day to day struggle of a world returned in a matter of hours to a pre-industrial state.
Alas, Babylon is *not* a book about the global politics that might lead to nuclear war (the reason for the Soviet attack is poorly-defined at best). Nor is Alas, Babylon a post-apocalypse fantasy set centuries in the future, with the USA nothing but a legend. Alas, Babylon is a warning written for a Cold War population that assumed it would eventually be destroyed in a nuclear attack. As a warning and survival guide, Frank's book is excellent -- he's obviously thought through the details. The book is unfortunately not strong on character development; in particular, I didn't buy the hero's instant conversion from lazy slacker to motivated leader. However, given that it was written during the height of the Cold War, the book is commendable for its relatively enlightened treatment of blacks and women, and for its recognition that racial and religious differences won't matter after the blast. Unfortunately, I prefer my post-apocalypse fiction set further in the future, with the atomic holocaust a distant memory (see A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Unforsaken Hiero, and the Horseclans novels). The myths and legends that grow up about the old nations of Earth are more interesting to me than a disaster/survival epic. This is not a slam on Alas, Babylon; it simply indicates that I was looking for something other than what this book has to offer. If a disaster epic with an apocalyptic feel is what you're looking for, this is a great place to start. If not, this book probably isn't for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Alas, Babylon
Review: This book was stupid, it didnt make sense! The author should re ashamed of itself for writing such a boring and unthrilling book! I would really like to thank the author, because since my teacher choose her book, our class had to read it, it was boring and I dont see how anyone could get interested in something so stupid!
Rating:
Summary: Cold War Classic
Review: As a babyboomer who grew up with civil defense drills in school, and the threat of nuclear war just a normal part of childhood, I've loved this very believable book through several readings. Sci-Fi at it's best - when you think "this could really happen." An all time classic that I wish our children would read and try and understand the times. As an airforce brat, whose daddy was a Missile Crew Commander, I had to have my own copy of this captivating story. The characters are richly detailed, the research excellent, and the terror very true.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent read, questionable science perhaps though.
Review: This book was EXCELLENT! I love after the bomb books, always have. Once I got about a quarter of the way into it, I ended up staying up almost night finishing it! If you want to lose sleep, read this book....I couldnt put it down! It is an excellent book, more of an adventure to me, and the only thing negative in this book that I found was the fact that some of the science behind the nuclear fallout and such wasnt exactly accurate, in my opinion. It made a great read though! One more thing I loved about this book, and was very impressed by, was the fact that the main character ( the hero ) was not at all racist, while many of the other characters were very much so, and the author made a point to make that known. Very enlightening for a book that came out in 1970, when that sentiment was not as popular as it is today. My compliments to the author on this!
Rating:
Summary: Superb story about the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.
Review: Pat Frank's "Alas Babylon" was published in 1959, yet the writing is still fresh and original. Frank depicts a small river town in central Florida, named Fort Repose, most of whose inhabitants escape the most devastating results of a widespread nuclear holocaust. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the townspeople must cope with such serious problems as a lack of electricity, food shortages, lack of medical supplies and ravaging "highwaymen". Frank wisely focuses on the individual personalities in Fort Repose and we get to know them intimately. The main character is Randy Bragg, an attorney who has no direction in life, until he pulls himself together to become a leader in his town when leadership is desperately needed. Dan Gunn is an old-fashioned doctor who makes the best of a tragic situation. He remains committed to helping as many people as he can, even when his medical supplies run out. There are many other townspeople who appear in the book, and each has a role to play in the story. Frank depicts the characters skillfully and with compassion, and they becomes flesh and blood people before our eyes. Considering the depressing topic of the book, Frank uses humor liberally and effectively. The story is riveting and the writing is sharp and believable. Frank's book reinforces the idea that we sometimes lose sight of what really matters in life--until a tragedy forces us to reexamine our values.
Rating:
Summary: Hard Science Fiction at its Best!
Review: It's hard to believe that people don't like this book! And to say that it's unrealistic is a *joke*! This book had everything! Crime after The Day was *horrible*, contrary to what one reviewer said. And radiation is the *least* of your worries. As a matter of fact, if the initial blast doesn't kill you, you might as well be *thankful* if the radiation does you in and not malnutrition. It's VERY possible to survive a blast from a distance of fifty miles. And there is still some debate over whether nuclear winter is real. And even if it is, a blast in the middle of December would suffer less severely from it. Get this book. Read it. Next time you see commercials for "The Day After", have a good laugh. In the immortal words of Ian Malcolm, "Life finds a way."
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Summary: Can't miss book!
Review: A book set in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, it focus' on the life and death struggle of a small Florida town. Great balance to carachters and story line a must read for all people who like to read.
Rating:
Summary: The best of it's genre
Review: Now I see what all the other apocalyptic sci fi writers have been trying to do for the last 40 years! This is THE definitive work of it's genre. Three-dimensional characters, an enthralling plot, and the science to back it all up? What more can you ask for. This book is my new yardstick against which all apoc. fiction will be measured.
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