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Summary: Survival, Up close and personal.
Review: Timacuan Indian village, Second Seminole War, Palm log block house. Going to Ft. McCoy on Rt. 50. Sounds like it could be Christmas Fla. to me. Blame the next review on me too
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Summary: Great book to get you thinking about your priorities.
Review: Trying to pinpoint the town that could be the inspriation for this book I came up with Christmas, Fla. However, the more likely scenario here is that the author took characteristics from several places of interest in the general area and there is no one town that was the inspiration for Fort Repose. Since I love Fla. and I identified closely with the main character, I found the book to be entertaining, as well as a practical survival guide
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Summary: Required Reading in my Central Florida English class 1960's
Review: This book is a classic... hits close to home for me growing up during the Cuban Missle crisis. The SAC base was located at McCoy field, now Orlando International in the 1950's and 1960's. Had the Soviets not backed down during the Kennedy face off, this could have and probably would have happened. Interesting enough there is a town on which this book could be based. One of the debates in high school was which town could be the one in the book. I picked Mt. Dora, supposedly the town built a large bomb shelter in the 1960's to house the town council. I read it frequently
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Summary: Perhaps the original after-the-apocalypse novel.
Review: A tactical error by an Air Force pilot proves to be the proverbial "straw that breaks the camel's back" with regardsto tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States.Nuclear bombs rain down on both countries, and in a matterof hours, civilization is changed for many years to come.With only the occasional mention of "the big picture" afterthe initial events, the book focuses on the inhabitants ofa small town in central Florida, their struggle for survival,and an attempt to retain dignity at the same time. This 1959 book is possibly the grand-daddy of this type of book,and while it has a "campy" feel in parts due to society'schanges since the time it was written, little would bedifferent if the book was written today. A good read
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Summary: Classic Novel of a time when the bomb hung over our heads.
Review: If any Novel can be said to be a classic of the time whenchildren grew up with the fear of the Atomic Bomb falling on them ,thier friends and family.... this is it.Randy gets some warning from his brother that things are heating up and that an atomic war could be about to happen. With his sister in law and her kids they try to survive the atomic war that happened much quicker that anyone could have expected.A compelling novel full of realistic insights of a time in the not too distant past... or perhaps the near future. Read this book.
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Summary: One of the best post-nuke books ever!
Review: This is one of the best original post-nuke novels. Some of the
technical data is a bit dated, but the overall story is
great. Picture yourself in Florida with most of the
country a radioactive ditch. Survival coolness!
Scott
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Summary: Almost too good . . . .
Review: I read this book as a teenager and was so taken by it that I would reread it several years in a row. Its picture of life after a nuclear war is harrowing and frightening. In a sense, this is a prelude of the story that concludes with "On the Beach". The only problem is that Frank writes so well and gives such a hopeful slant to the possibility of survival that some readers might want to be there when the missles start to fall. (By the way, this much superior to that mess of a movie "The Day After"--and, oh how I wish, it would have made a splendid film. I believe it was made as a Playhouse 90 for TV in the 50s. Oh, would I love to see that!)
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Summary: Wonderful
Review: While Nevil Shute's "On the Beach" deals with nuclear war after the fact, Pat Frank puts the reader right in the middle of the war and lets them witness firsthand the mass hysteria and carnage that would accompany the beginning and aftermath in the first few years afterwards. The actual beginning of the nuclear war occupies only the first few chapters of the book, and the fallout, both literally and figuratively, is what makes up the rest. Having the reader in the middle of the action is what hits home the most--especially when the radio address by the new president, a woman who is about twentieth in line to succeed the president, reads a complete listing of the areas with so much fallout that people are forbidden to enter or leave them. Chills will run down your spine when you read this part and realize that you are right in the midst of one of these zones. This book is more optimistic than Nevil Shute's, so perhaps it's less realistic. However, Frank weaves a wonderful story of people picking up the pieces of the shattered world and managing to move on together in the face of such tragedy. Definitely a worthwhile read.
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Summary: A Mature Look At Nuclear War
Review: If you came to this book looking for Mad Max, dont bother. If you want to reinforce your concept that life on Earth will end with the explosion of one nuke, go elsewhere. But if youre interested in how the collapse of society would impact everyday people, this novel is for you.
Pat Frank takes a fairly reasoned look at the affects of a nuclear war on small town America in the early to mid 1960s. To put it in a nutshell, everone in a small Florida town goes stir crazy for a few days after the bombs drop, looks around and sees they may survive if they act normal and build a new society and economy. How they get from point A to point B is the real joy of this book.
The one legitimate flaw with this tome that others have pointed out is it is quite dated, especially when considering race relations. Also, gender issues are dealt with from an angle we would not be used to today. Most (but not all) of the black characters are somewhat ignorant of the larger world. The female characters are emotional and are prepared to collapse into crying fits over the smallest of quandaries. That said, Pat Frank does present these characters sympathetically and allows them to shine. In ways, this quirk enhances the book as the author's take on these matters is largely appropriate to the time frame.
The next major point of criticism is that the book doesnt accurately reflect the truth about nuclear war as there are survivors. When considering this issue, one must remember the time frame of the story. The Soviets didnt have that many nukes in this time period and had very little capability of dropping them on America. If anything, Frank goes beyond what would be likely.
Finally Ive noted lots of the poor ratings given to this book came from people who were forced to read it in grade school. This is certainly understandable. I would be inclined to give low ratings to books stuffed down my throat too! Still, I urge prospective buyers to take these critiques with a grain of salt.
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Summary: Summer reading... made enjoyable?
Review: Every year I dread summer reading for school. Not because I don't like reading, on the contrary, I love to read. Yet I always feel limited when I look at the list offered by the school and see nothing that tickles my fancies.
This time, it was different. I took out a book titled Alas, Babylon after hearing it was a Post-apocalyptic tale. Boy, am I glad I did that. The novel was captivating, with wonderful characters, a great setting, and did I mention, wonderful characters?
While the story is a bit unbelievable, (the family lives about what? 50 miles from a nuclear attack), it makes up for the realism in so many other ways.
The story tells of a man's struggle to help his family and community survive and maintain civilization. What makes the novel such a powerful tale is the way Pat Frank brings the characters to life. All of the many active characters have deep personalities that are unveiled to the reader as the story progresses. Overall, I'd recommend this story to anyone.
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