[lizardlady]

I know everyone here is old enough to have been around when the book was written (1959). Anyone here read it? It's about a group of survivors in a small Florida town after nuclear attack.

I'm currently listening to it on audiobook. It's read by Will Patton, whose voice is perfect for the book.

I have a couple of observations from listening to it. I was in middle school the first time I read it. This was back in the Cold War days when we were sure we were all going to go up in a radioactive cloud when the US and the USSR started lobbing nukes at one another.

side note - Remember "duck and cover" in the halls? I used to wonder if they really thought cowering in the hall of the school was going to protect us from radiation.

Sorry, back to the book... Back then we were scared that the US and the USSR were going to turn the other into a radioactive slag heap. Today we worry about people with bombs in backpacks. Not to mention the Red Terror just sort of crumbled 25 years ago. When we were kids could any of us believed the evil empire would just sort of fall apart?

The other thing that stood out about the book so far is that it was definitely written in pre-politically correct days. A character is referred to as an "N-word ('cept the book uses the actual N-word) lover" and talks about "them" needing to stay in their place. Neither would fly in this day and age, but were acceptable at the time.

I'm waiting to see if the book scares me as much now as it did when I first read it. I live and lived, not far from where the book is set. In an era when we were sure we were doomed the book scared the bejeebers outta me.

[CANDC]

This is a very sad topic,

I read THE LAST DAY
On the Beach (novel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't go back and read horror stories like that. We face so many bigger threats than that now. They scare me enough!

[Bernard54]

I've certainly heard of it but not sure if I have read it or not. I'm a voracious reader so it's difficult to remember but it sounds very familiar. I'm also a fan of apocalyptic stories so it's quite possible.

I do remember the days of 'duck and cover' as well as getting under your desk so you wouldn't be hurt. Like a wall or a piece of wood could somehow keep you from getting turned to ash or from dying of radiation poisoning. Ah, it was such a simple time then.

I'm sure glad we don't have those kind of worries now and we can all live in peace.

[Gus1234U]

personally, i feel like doom has already come upon us: ecological, economical, environmental, infrastructural, cultural, educational DOOM is undermining the very foundations of our health, freedom and environment.

The Nukes had nothing on Homeland Security for terrorizing people.
genetically modified foods are a nightmare, if anyone cares to investigate; the bees are all dying; the sea is a dumping ground for garbage of all types; the coral reefs are dying. global climate change is making itself better known every year.

we will be known as the generation that saw the end of the world, as it was.
the great-grandchildren will do documentaries on: "What do you remember?"
i get really annoyed at the professional prognosticators who say we have another 30 yrs to stop the global melt-down. it's here now.

[Bernard54]

Originally Posted by Gus1234U

personally, i feel like doom has already come upon us: ecological, economical, environmental, infrastructural, cultural, educational DOOM is undermining the very foundations of our health, freedom and environment.

The Nukes had nothing on Homeland Security for terrorizing people.
genetically modified foods are a nightmare, if anyone cares to investigate; the bees are all dying; the sea is a dumping ground for garbage of all types; the coral reefs are dying. global climate change is making itself better known every year.

we will be known as the generation that saw the end of the world, as it was.
the great-grandchildren will do documentaries on: "What do you remember?"
i get really annoyed at the professional prognosticators who say we have another 30 yrs to stop the global melt-down. it's here now.

Wow, I thought my depression was bad before I read this...now it's in the who gives a sh** mode.

Everything you write there is true, but what does one do about all of this? I remember protesting nukes back in the 60's, what was being done to our food/water in the 70's, ocean pollution in the 80's, and on and on. Nothing really gets done. Perhaps it will all be for the best as humans seem little more than a virus devouring its host.

Maybe we need to fast-track colonization of Mars....if nothing else it will give us an extra place to dump our garbage.

[lizardlady]

Bernard54, the way I keep what sanity I have is to do what I can for the world. Lil' ole me can't save the world, but I can help make my little part of it better.

[Bernard54]

I totally agree, it may not save the world but will at least make what is left a bit more tolerable.

If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one." — Mother Teresa

[lizardlady]

Originally Posted by Bernard54

I totally agree, it may not save the world but will at least make what is left a bit more tolerable.

If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one." — Mother Teresa

Your quote from Mother Teresa makes me think of the story about the man throwing starfish back in the sea. Someone points out that he can't save the lives of all the starfish. He points out he saved the life of the one he threw back.

I have a job working with at risk kids. Some times my co-workers (me too, to be totally honest) become discouraged that there are so many kids that need help and we can't save them all. I remind myself that if I've made a difference to one kid, I've made a difference.

[CANDC]

I grew up hoping to solve all the world's problems. After decades of frustrated efforts, I realized I had a much greater task than changing the world. I had to change my own beliefs and attitudes.
Yes the world still has serious problems, but now I am taking them on one person at a time. That is all I can handle. There are no big problems, there is only the problem I face right now. I can handle that.

My musings for what they are worth.

[Nammu]

I used to wonder if I was alone in thinking that duck and cover was stupid. I talked back to my teacher who was telling me to get under my desk and got sent to the principals office. She just smiled and told me to humor my teacher.

Nope Liz, I never read that particular book but it sounds like many I have read...maybe better written than most. The scariest book I read when I was a kid was a book about a boy in South America, a volcano erupted virtually in his back yard. I was scared to sleep for weeks...and I lived in MN where there were no volcanos!

[lizardlady]

CANDC, I grew up thinking I was responsible for turning the crank that made the world turn. I believed I was responsible for everything in the world. I also believed that when anything went wrong it was my fault. I put a lot of hard work into therapy to learn I'm only responsible for myself and my actions. Life is a whole lot less stressful as a result.

Sidestepper, I've discovered that we had lots of company thinking duck and cover was stupid. Most of us didn't have the courage to question the teacher. Good for you!

I'm about a third of the way through the book at this point. What's really sad is that the book talks of problems in the Middle East. The same crap is still going on today half a century later. I wondering if the book ever made a banned book list because of the terms used for racial minorities. The words were in common usage back then, but are not acceptable today. I've heard of other books being banned for the same sort of language.

[Nammu]

I found a list of banned or challenged books from the New York library. Alas, Babylon was on it, but I don't know when or why the list only had 23 books on it. It doesn't surprise me that it would be banned. It joins other notables like To Kill a Mockingbird, Slaughterhouse 5, A Raisin in the Sun, and even Harry Potter books. The thing is the banned books change by year and decades. I once set out to read the top 100 banned books but there were too many terrible books that were banned like lady Chatterley's Lover-- a horribly written book. Plus there are many lists, which list to choose? I have enough good books I want to read and now this one is on that list of books to read!

[CANDC]

Guess I am not the only one that thought they was a superhero!

Back to what I can do.