Alas, Babylon

· Sold by Harper Collins
4.6
196 reviews
Ebook
368
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

“An extraordinary real picture of human beings numbed by catastrophe but still driven by the unconquerable determination of living creatures to keep on being alive.” —The New Yorker

The classic apocalyptic novel by Pat Frank, first published in 1959 at the height of the Cold War, with an introduction by award-winning science fiction writer and scientist David Brin.

“Alas, Babylon.” Those fateful words heralded the end. When the unthinkable nightmare of nuclear holocaust ravaged the United States, it was instant death for tens of millions of people; for survivors, it was a nightmare of hunger, sickness, and brutality. Overnight, a thousand years of civilization were stripped away.

But for one small Florida town, miraculously spared against all the odds, the struggle was only just beginning, as the isolated survivors—men and women of all ages and races—found the courage to come together and confront the harrowing darkness.

Ratings and reviews

4.6
196 reviews
Corneliu Dascălu
August 22, 2014
A story that after more than 50 years is still actual. It must have been so much scarier for the people of 1959, when the prospect of a nuclear war was a daily fear. However, compared to "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen, the disaster doesn't seem so great. While both books tell the story of a suddenly isolated community surviving on its own, the Fort Repose doesn't have to deal with the thousands of people traveling in search of food. And while the loss of human life is huge in "Alas, Babylon", it's not as personal.
13 people found this review helpful
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Kaylie Lavan
July 14, 2022
Always great for a re-read, and re-read I have many times. Wonderfully well written and as relevant now as it was when it was released nearly eighty years ago. As some may point out, the set up and break down for this story isn't unfamilliar to those who are familliar with this particular genre, but it should be noted that this story predates many of the notables - such as The Stand - by two decades, and could be seen as a precursor to those more well known classics in the post-apocalyptic scene. This is always a delight to look back upon.
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Leif Hietala
August 31, 2019
I don't know if this was an early example of the breed but this story carries many features in common with others that came after: the setup of idyllic life before, the looming threat of and finally the shock of the disaster. What follows thereafter is a systematic rediscovery of how to make a civilization work without the usual support network of federal, state or even local government. Stephen King did it with The Stand, Larry Niven with Lucifer's Hammer, and many others. It's good, but not unique.
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About the author

Pat Frank (1908–1964) is the author of the classic postapocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon, as well as the Cold War thriller Forbidden Area. Before becoming an author, Frank worked as a journalist and also as a propagandist for the government. He is one of the first and most influential science fiction writers to deal with the consequences of atomic warfare.

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