A chilling apocalypse in Alas,Babylon

Pat Frank’s classic novel, Alas, Babylon, the characters must live in a post-apocalyptic society after a cold war era attack. After a plane accidentally enters restricted airspace, the Soviet Union calls for a full nuclear attack of the United States and leaves almost no semblance of order. The main character Randy Bragg, a former U.S. Army officer living in central Florida, gets word from his brother who is an Intelligence officer for the Air Force saying that tensions are getting high and something might happen soon. Once everything does fall apart, Randy and his neighbors have no contact to anywhere outside of the neighborhood.  When Marshal Law is imposed by the acting president of what is left of the United States, Randy steps up and takes control of this society by protecting his people from “Highway Men,” making sure they have food, getting rid of the radiation.

                This novel was written when tensions were still high between the United States and the Soviet Union.  So many readers would  know that any wrong move could cause their demise. This novel fits with the definition because it is a society living in an apocalyptic world that cannot use any of today’s modern advancements though the people are so used to living that way. These stories hold popularity because though the situation has diffused with the Soviet Union, other countries are quickly learning how to make these weapons and we are scared that they will not be responsible with them.  In this world of nuclear technology, it is always a present danger that a wrong move could cause a country to launch their nuclear warheads at any time.