Alas, Babylon appeared in 1959, when clouds of nuclear fear hovered over humanity. People built bomb shelters on their property and stocked them with water and canned food. Schools conducted duck-and-cover drills. Citizens were urged to keep their radios tuned to their CONELRAD stations. Sputnik, a primitive Russian satellite, orbited the planet, a harbinger of doom.

Pat Frank’s novel centers on the town of Fort Repose, Florida, where everybody knows everybody. The doctor makes house calls. The milkman delivers dairy products to people’s doors. The town banker does business on the basis of his customers’ reputations.

Randy Bragg’s only problem is a misunderstanding with a neighbor lady who thinks he’s a peeping Tom. His aimless life takes a dark turn when his brother Mark, a Strategic Air Command officer, sends his wife and children to live with Randy as nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union appears imminent. Suddenly, Randy must assume a leadership role as the idyllic life of 1950s America becomes a struggle for survival.

Frank’s tale serves as a warning of how complacency can destroy a rich and self-satisfied civilization. People accustomed to fresh water at the touch of a tap, food for the asking, electricity at the flip of a switch, and gasoline from the pump, lose those luxuries in a single day, forcing them to make do with the remnants of disaster. The question is whether people choose to carry on or succumb to despair.

Despite occasional profanity and racial epithets typical of its time, Alas, Babylon manages to be entertaining, instructive, and cautionary. The author obviously knows a great deal about nature, wildlife, medicine, electronics and mechanics and uses it to his characters’ advantage. 

If this novel seems a bit quaint sixty-seven years after its publication, it remains relevant as nations continue to arm themselves for nuclear war. We should pray that our common humanity and faith in God will prevail if Pat Frank’s fantasy becomes a reality.

Chevron Ross's novels include Weapons of Remorse, The Seven-Day Resurrection, and The Samaritan's Patient. Click here for more information.