Alas, Babylon: Pat Frank; 1959

Man, do I have problems with Alas, Babylon.

You can usually tell when a book was written by a mid-twentieth-century upper-middle-class white American man, which is to say some people are just oblivious to the way the world really works. After an apocalyptic event, I highly doubt the people who were essentially in a subservient position would still "yessir" and "anything you say sir" and "right away sir" and "let me just drop my plow right here and leave my mule sitting in the middle of the field so I can run and do whatever it is you want me to do, boss".  I really got ticked off at the main  character when, after the acting leader of the free world came on the radio and said "all debts will be forgiven" and he tells the man that used to work for him before "The Day" who just installed some pipe for an artesian water system that the worker can forget about the $200 that was borrowed because he just worked so hard... I mean, the president lady already came out and said all debts were forgiven....what a d***.

 I highly doubt poor people, who were poor before the big blasts knocked out the infrastructure in the entire lower 48 would be rolling in their own feces 4 months after the power was shut off. Actually, I imagine the poor people who had been doing without for generations would be much better set up to withstand hardship than those of "higher birth" who are used to having their needs met before the need made itself known.

And come, really? Women have been the backbone of survival for eons. After the fall of society, women will be too busy figuring out staples and food storage and how to get through today and next year to make sure you have hot water delivered to your bedroom every morning so you can have a shave. Grow a beard, get over yourself and write a real survival story.

I don't have my book with me so I can't tell you what page I'm on at the moment. I have read to recognize the difference between today and yesterday, though it seems our politics are relatively the same. I recognize how far we have come as a people; how, though it seems our races and economic levels are once again pulling apart to their separate corners in many ways, it has been much, much worse.

Could be I'm writing with my grouchy pants, could be I shouldn't be judging a book written 57 years ago by modern standards. Could be I should just write my own survival "what if".


Later:   The problem with re-reading (or the benefit of re-reading) what you have written a couple of days later is you can see where you erred and (this particular "you") feel the absolute need to add to what was said in a revisionary manner.

I grant that this was an emotional writing, and didn't mention the detailed political maneuvers  the author included in the text. I don't know how countries work, how they relate, how they would recover from a global attack, how pilots speak to each other and their support, etc. I feel after reading Pat Frank I have a better idea of world relations and strategy during the late 1950's.

Also, excuse the bleeped profanity where I referred to the protaganist as a part of the male anatomy. That was uncalled for... but get me in the right mood and I might repeat it.