Pat Frank: Alas, Babylon (1977, Perfection Learning Prebound)
unknown binding
Published July 7, 1977 by Perfection Learning Prebound.
A story of a group of people who rely on their own courage and ingenuity to survive in a town which escaped nuclear bombing.
I read this for the first time while I was in high school during the Cold War. I lived in a town that had a SAC base that also hosted nuclear ordinance. I've read it a few more times as an adult, too. While the story seems dated today, it's not hard to understand the struggles of surviving in a post-nuclear war world.
Wow, I am so glad I read this book. I have always recommended Lucifer's Hammer to people looking for a good, relatively realistic post-apocalyptic novel. Alas, Babylon is just as good, if not better. I had never heard of this book or the author until I started researching the best apocalypse novels (I had an itch that only they could scratch). This novel is widely considered to be the best of its kind. I agree.
