Alas, Babylon
Description
“An extraordinary real picture of human beings numbed by catastrophe but still driven by the unconquerable determination of living creatures to keep on being alive.”—The New Yorker
The classic apocalyptic novel by Pat Frank, first published in 1959 at the height of the Cold War, and now available as a limited Olive Edition from Harper Perennial.
“Alas, Babylon . . .” With those fateful words, the world as we knew it ended. When the unthinkable nightmare of nuclear holocaust ravaged the United States, it was instant death for tens of millions of people; for survivors, it was a nightmare of hunger, sickness, and brutality. In an instant, a thousand years of civilization were stripped away.
But for one small Florida town, spared against all odds, the struggle was just beginning, as men and women of all ages and races found the courage to join together and push against the darkness.
Pat Frank’s classic disaster novel, first published in 1959 at the height of the Cold War, remains prescient in its vision and immediate in its horror.
The full set of books in the 2026 Olive Editions series include:
- Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
- Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Island by Aldous Huxley
- Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
- The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
- Highfire by Eoin Colfer
- The World Wasn’t Ready for You by Justin Key
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Person
Pat Frank (1908–1964) was the author of the classic postapocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon, as well as the Cold War thriller Forbidden Area. Before becoming an author, Frank worked as a journalist and also as a propagandist for the government. He was one of the first and most influential science fiction writers to deal with the consequences of atomic warfare.