Reference to the words Alas Babylon can be found in The King James Bible, Revelations chapter 18, verses 9 & 10: as follows: 9)And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 10) Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Alas, Babylon tells a riveting story of a massive nuclear attack and how a small community of people in Florida survives when millions of others perish. What makes this book chilling is that it was written in 1959 at the height of the former Cold War. In the book, the Russians are the perpetrators of this apocalyptic event and, oh, gee, it is the Russians who are currently alleged to be behind serious hacking charges and meddling in America. Randy Bragg is a young man living on the family estate in Fort Repose, FL. His older brother, Mark, is an officer high up in the US government and privvy to information indicating that a nuclear attack is imment. He sends his wife, Helen, and kids from Nebraska to live with Randy, along with money and instructions to prepare as best he can in the short time left to them. Randy takes the warning seriously and stocks up on nonperishable food and other goods that will not be available from that point on. On the morning of "The Day" the Braggs, along with several close community members/friends, witness the end of their way of life for the foreseeable future in the form of several nuclear mushroom clouds indicating the obliteration of various military bases around Florida. The community of Fort Repose is cut off from the rest of the world as radio goes permanently off the air, electricity, running water and essentially modern civilization dies. Although this story is set in the late 50s, it shows that no matter the era, in a catastrophe, people behave according to their gifts and natures, from giving all to save family/mankind to becoming absolutely degenerate monsters.
As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. What I enjoy most about this book is the ingenuity demonstrated as people learn or rediscover ways and means of survival. I read these kinds of stories, not to scare myself (which does happen when I see where the world political picture is heading presently) but to learn things I may not know that will help me survive a catastrophe.
Alas, Babylon tells a riveting story of a massive nuclear attack and how a small community of people in Florida survives when millions of others perish. What makes this book chilling is that it was written in 1959 at the height of the former Cold War. In the book, the Russians are the perpetrators of this apocalyptic event and, oh, gee, it is the Russians who are currently alleged to be behind serious hacking charges and meddling in America. Randy Bragg is a young man living on the family estate in Fort Repose, FL. His older brother, Mark, is an officer high up in the US government and privvy to information indicating that a nuclear attack is imment. He sends his wife, Helen, and kids from Nebraska to live with Randy, along with money and instructions to prepare as best he can in the short time left to them. Randy takes the warning seriously and stocks up on nonperishable food and other goods that will not be available from that point on. On the morning of "The Day" the Braggs, along with several close community members/friends, witness the end of their way of life for the foreseeable future in the form of several nuclear mushroom clouds indicating the obliteration of various military bases around Florida. The community of Fort Repose is cut off from the rest of the world as radio goes permanently off the air, electricity, running water and essentially modern civilization dies. Although this story is set in the late 50s, it shows that no matter the era, in a catastrophe, people behave according to their gifts and natures, from giving all to save family/mankind to becoming absolutely degenerate monsters.
As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. What I enjoy most about this book is the ingenuity demonstrated as people learn or rediscover ways and means of survival. I read these kinds of stories, not to scare myself (which does happen when I see where the world political picture is heading presently) but to learn things I may not know that will help me survive a catastrophe.
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