Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

6/10

I just finished reading this one. It was the book I picked off my shelf to read during Christmas break. A good time was had by all, except for the millions upon millions of people who died in the book. But it was all make believe so it's okay.

This book was written in 1959 amidst all the worries about nuclear warfare. And believe me, this book wouldn't help to relieve any of those worries for folks back then. It paints a pretty bleak picture. But, if you live in a somewhat isolated area you may survive if Russia decides to unleash 200+ nuclear bombs on the U.S.

In this tale, Randy lived in such a locale called Fort Repose. His brother worked in some government informational dealio and told Randy that Russia will strike any time now. So his brother flies his family to Fort Repose, Randy stocks up on things that he thinks he'll need, and the next day is when "The Day" happens. The rest of the story is about their survival. Randy and a handful of neighbors pretty much set up their own little law of consecration and get by quite well and much better than most.

My favorite part of the book was just seeing how losing some things that we have taken for granted (electricity, running water, a marketplace, etc.) can really be a crippling thing. Makes you respect some of the old-timers way back when who had to fight every day in order to survive.

My least favorite part is how well-versed Randy and especially his 13 year old nephew were with all the lingo. Everyone else were also way up to speed on it too. I wish that there were at least a few characters who were like, "What the h-e-double hockey sticks is going on?" or like, "I did not see that coming." Instead, this 13 year old kid is all in the know with the intricacies of strategic military nuclear warfare and the like. I mean, he calls the Mediterranean Sea "The Med". Pah-lease. Oh well, it actually didn't bother me too much and really didn't take anything away from the book overall.

I bet if I had read this book when it was first written that I would have pooped my pants. Then I would have moved to North Dakota and built the best food-storage of all-time.

A quote:

"Lying was the worst crime, the indispensable accomplice of all others."