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Alas, BabylonIf the Third World War is fought with nuclear weapons, the fourth will be fought with bows and arrows. |
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Wednesday, July 14, 1999
One year ago: Org Charts
I finished reading a book that Jack let me borrow, back when we were packing up his stuff. Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank, dates from 1959. It's a post-apocalypse story, and almost reads like a historical novel or alternate history now.
It's set at the time it was written. The characters are living in a small town in rural Florida, which means there are a lot of factors that make survival a possibility. I guess a story of total nuclear horror wouldn't be much fun to read!
Frank is careful with all the details of SAC on alert, a missile that takes a wrong turn, and so on, all to build the suspense before the bombs drop. Afterwards, we see how the main characters get along, who can survive without modern infrastructure and who can't, what they eat and how they trade.
The book held my attention in a Heinlein sort of way. The modern view of a nuclear holocaust would not be a tale that I'd want to read.
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Wow! I'm eating some Godiva ice cream -- chocolate raspberry truffle. So smooth and rich and delicious! I'd had dinner, then "rested my eyes" for an hour, and was hungry when I woke up, so I walked to the grocery store. I then wandered up and down the aisles, feeling peckish, but for what? I thought of those black-peppered potato chips, but Safeway doesn't carry them here. I ended up with candy for the bowl on my desk at work, peppered beef jerky, and the ice cream. "Godiva Ice Cream is not available in our Godiva Boutiques, department stores, Godiva catalog or online." The online part is a nice touch.
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