--- product_id: 219775 title: "Alas, Babylon: The Classic Apocalyptic Novel of Courage, Survival, and Determination After Nuclear Holocaust" price: "134.44 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/219775-alas-babylon-the-classic-apocalyptic-novel-of-courage-survival-determination store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # 352 gripping pages Timeless apocalyptic survival tale Classic 1959 Cold War setting Alas, Babylon: The Classic Apocalyptic Novel of Courage, Survival, and Determination After Nuclear Holocaust **Price:** 134.44 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📖 Unlock the ultimate Cold War survival saga—because missing this classic is the real fallout! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Alas, Babylon: The Classic Apocalyptic Novel of Courage, Survival, and Determination After Nuclear Holocaust - **How much does it cost?** 134.44 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/219775-alas-babylon-the-classic-apocalyptic-novel-of-courage-survival-determination) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Survival & Human Spirit:** Experience the raw courage and determination of a small Florida town fighting to rebuild civilization from the ashes. - • **Perfect Paperback Edition:** Compact, portable 352-page reissue—ideal for your commute, coffee breaks, or emergency preparedness reading list. - • **Award-Winning Introduction:** Foreword by David Brin, a celebrated sci-fi author and scientist, adding modern perspective to a timeless classic. - • **Cold War Realism Reimagined:** Dive into a prescient narrative that captures the tension and fears of the nuclear age with unmatched authenticity. - • **Cultural Heritage & Literary Impact:** Ranked top 200 in Classic American Literature and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction—join millions who cherish this iconic story. ## Overview Alas, Babylon is a 352-page paperback reissue of Pat Frank’s seminal 1959 apocalyptic novel, vividly portraying the aftermath of nuclear war on a small Florida town. With a compelling introduction by David Brin, this classic blends Cold War-era realism with timeless themes of human resilience, making it a must-read for fans of cultural heritage fiction and post-apocalyptic narratives. ## 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, with an introduction by award-winning science fiction writer and scientist David Brin. “Alas, Babylon.” Those fateful words heralded the end. 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. Overnight, a thousand years of civilization were stripped away. But for one small Florida town, miraculously spared against all the odds, the struggle was only just beginning, as the isolated survivors—men and women of all ages and races—found the courage to come together and confront the harrowing darkness. Review: A bit dated, but still relevant and impactful - Having been published back in 1959, i.e. when the space program and commercial jetliner travel were still in their infancy, and whilst we were still in the Industrial Age and therefore less technology-dependent as we are now, not to mention less vulnerable to the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects of nuclear weapons as our present-day society would be, this novel is obviously a tad bit dated compared to more recent post-nuclear and other post-apocalyptic fiction books. Nonetheless, it's still an excellent book, eminently readable and engrossing, and frighteningly realistic, well worth the read. RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS (and noteworthy passages): --p. 3: "The Russians had sent up another Sputnik, No. 23, and something sinister was going on in the Middle East. Sputnik No. 23 was the largest yet, according to the Smithsonian Institution, and was radioing continuous and elaborate coded signals. 'There is reason to believe,' Frank said, 'that Sputniks of this size are equipped to observe the terrain of the earth below.....'There is a new crisis in the Middle East. A report from Beirut, via Cairo, says that Syrian tanks of the most modern Russian design have crossed the Jordanian frontier. This is undoubtedly a threat to Israel. At the same time Damascus charges that Turkish troops are mobilizing….'" Wow, dated yet paradoxically so prescient in many ways. --p. 9: "Randy knew he wasn’t an alcoholic because an alcoholic craved liquor. He never craved it. He just drank for pleasure and the most pleasurable of all drinks was the first one on a crisp winter morning." Like the joke says, "I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a drunk, I don't go to meetings!" --p. 17: "'Nations are like people. When they grow old and rich and fat they get conservative. They exhaust their energy trying to keep things the way they are—and that’s against nature. Oh, the services were to blame too. Maybe even SAC. We designed the most beautiful bombers in the world, and built them by the thousands. We improved and modified them each year, like new model cars. We couldn’t bear the thought that jet bombers themselves might be out of style. Right now we’re in the position of the Federal Navy, with its wooden steam frigates, up against the Confederate iron-clad. It is a state of mind that money alone won’t cure.'” --p. 29: "B-47’ s," aahh, the pre-52 days of SAC. --p. 35: "'Then in ‘fifty-eight, after the Iraq king was assassinated, we grabbed the initiative and landed Marines in Lebanon. We got there fastest.'" --p. 37: Ah yes, the infamous "missile gap." --p. 55: Since the U.S. was still on the gold standard when this book was written, paper cash could hypothetically still be worth something even during a catastrophe such as nuclear war, I suppose. Review: Alas, Babylon still powerful more than 50 years later - I read Alas, Babylon when I was a teenager in 1960 at the height of the Cold War. It was powerful then when we were daily being presented with news of atomic testing, ICBMs, sabre rattling and practicing "duck and cover" in our classrooms. It was a scary time. This book, and the teleplay of the book, were spot on in depicting the terror of the times. After reading this the first time I tried to convince my parents - unsuccessfully - to build a bomb shelter in our back yard. Reading the book again for the first time in over 50 years brings back my memories of that time quite clearly. It is hard for people who did not live through that time to understand it, but this book does a good job of that. The book takes place in a small town in central Florida which just happens to be one of the few relatively safe locations in that state. It was far enough away from the many military bases and large population centers to miss being directly affected by the bombs and relatively unaffected by the fallout. The characters in this book are all interesting products of their times and their actions reflect that. Randy's panic when he fully understands what is about to happen is all too real. His confrontation with the town banker at closing time foreshadows the dividing line between before and after "The Day" as it comes to be known later. The book, published in 1959, also reflects the times with respect to race and segregation. It was interestingly advanced in the attitudes of some of its characters towards the "blacks" at that time, yet still portrays many of the ingrained, unrealized, unthinking attitudes of both blacks and whites towards each other that were then prevalent. The daily struggles for survival in a post-atomic war world are transformed by a staggering reduction of technology from free and easy power and the handy gadgets that makes possible (even before the always connected technology of today) to, for a while, a telegraph line and a single ham radio. The town doctor has a few instruments and drugs but no more are available as nothing can get to the town through the "restricted zone." Life becomes hard very fast and what once were trivial injuries and illnesses are now life-threatening. This book is a good read and still as riveting as it was the first time I read it. It will always be one of my favorites. ## Features - Author: Pat Frank. - Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics - Pages: 352 - Publication Date: 2005-07-05 - Edition: Reissue - Binding: Paperback - MSRP: 15.99 - ISBN13: 9780060741877 - ISBN: 0060741872 - Other ISBN: 9780062296207 - Other ISBN Binding: print - Language: en ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #20,508 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #131 in Cultural Heritage Fiction #166 in Classic American Literature #216 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,819 Reviews | ## Images ![Alas, Babylon: The Classic Apocalyptic Novel of Courage, Survival, and Determination After Nuclear Holocaust - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71wrba+DA+L.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A bit dated, but still relevant and impactful *by C***R on August 31, 2018* Having been published back in 1959, i.e. when the space program and commercial jetliner travel were still in their infancy, and whilst we were still in the Industrial Age and therefore less technology-dependent as we are now, not to mention less vulnerable to the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects of nuclear weapons as our present-day society would be, this novel is obviously a tad bit dated compared to more recent post-nuclear and other post-apocalyptic fiction books. Nonetheless, it's still an excellent book, eminently readable and engrossing, and frighteningly realistic, well worth the read. RANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS (and noteworthy passages): --p. 3: "The Russians had sent up another Sputnik, No. 23, and something sinister was going on in the Middle East. Sputnik No. 23 was the largest yet, according to the Smithsonian Institution, and was radioing continuous and elaborate coded signals. 'There is reason to believe,' Frank said, 'that Sputniks of this size are equipped to observe the terrain of the earth below.....'There is a new crisis in the Middle East. A report from Beirut, via Cairo, says that Syrian tanks of the most modern Russian design have crossed the Jordanian frontier. This is undoubtedly a threat to Israel. At the same time Damascus charges that Turkish troops are mobilizing….'" Wow, dated yet paradoxically so prescient in many ways. --p. 9: "Randy knew he wasn’t an alcoholic because an alcoholic craved liquor. He never craved it. He just drank for pleasure and the most pleasurable of all drinks was the first one on a crisp winter morning." Like the joke says, "I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a drunk, I don't go to meetings!" --p. 17: "'Nations are like people. When they grow old and rich and fat they get conservative. They exhaust their energy trying to keep things the way they are—and that’s against nature. Oh, the services were to blame too. Maybe even SAC. We designed the most beautiful bombers in the world, and built them by the thousands. We improved and modified them each year, like new model cars. We couldn’t bear the thought that jet bombers themselves might be out of style. Right now we’re in the position of the Federal Navy, with its wooden steam frigates, up against the Confederate iron-clad. It is a state of mind that money alone won’t cure.'” --p. 29: "B-47’ s," aahh, the pre-52 days of SAC. --p. 35: "'Then in ‘fifty-eight, after the Iraq king was assassinated, we grabbed the initiative and landed Marines in Lebanon. We got there fastest.'" --p. 37: Ah yes, the infamous "missile gap." --p. 55: Since the U.S. was still on the gold standard when this book was written, paper cash could hypothetically still be worth something even during a catastrophe such as nuclear war, I suppose. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Alas, Babylon still powerful more than 50 years later *by L***6 on June 27, 2013* I read Alas, Babylon when I was a teenager in 1960 at the height of the Cold War. It was powerful then when we were daily being presented with news of atomic testing, ICBMs, sabre rattling and practicing "duck and cover" in our classrooms. It was a scary time. This book, and the teleplay of the book, were spot on in depicting the terror of the times. After reading this the first time I tried to convince my parents - unsuccessfully - to build a bomb shelter in our back yard. Reading the book again for the first time in over 50 years brings back my memories of that time quite clearly. It is hard for people who did not live through that time to understand it, but this book does a good job of that. The book takes place in a small town in central Florida which just happens to be one of the few relatively safe locations in that state. It was far enough away from the many military bases and large population centers to miss being directly affected by the bombs and relatively unaffected by the fallout. The characters in this book are all interesting products of their times and their actions reflect that. Randy's panic when he fully understands what is about to happen is all too real. His confrontation with the town banker at closing time foreshadows the dividing line between before and after "The Day" as it comes to be known later. The book, published in 1959, also reflects the times with respect to race and segregation. It was interestingly advanced in the attitudes of some of its characters towards the "blacks" at that time, yet still portrays many of the ingrained, unrealized, unthinking attitudes of both blacks and whites towards each other that were then prevalent. The daily struggles for survival in a post-atomic war world are transformed by a staggering reduction of technology from free and easy power and the handy gadgets that makes possible (even before the always connected technology of today) to, for a while, a telegraph line and a single ham radio. The town doctor has a few instruments and drugs but no more are available as nothing can get to the town through the "restricted zone." Life becomes hard very fast and what once were trivial injuries and illnesses are now life-threatening. This book is a good read and still as riveting as it was the first time I read it. It will always be one of my favorites. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fix it *by K***R on August 17, 2015* This was a wonderful book. I saw it on TV, black and white TV, when I was about 12. I tried to check it out of the library but was told my mother would have to check it out because I was not old enough to read a book like that. Sadly, I had ridden my bike to the library. A few weeks later I saw a copy in a drug store. It was in the single four-sided rotating bookrack next to the magazines. The counter guy had no compunction about selling it to me. This book enthralled me. I read it several times over the years. The last time I moved my residence the book was without a front or back cover, it was brown, brittle with the center 50 pages loose and the whole book was held together with a rubber band. I threw it away and I have missed it since. A few days ago I found it as an e-book and I bought it. I have loved and hated re-reading the book. It holds up very well and the situation in the Middle East is almost spot on the same today. The story is as fresh as the first time I read it. But there is one thing that is appalling and unacceptable. The spelling and syntax is far below even the lowest standards of publishing. Spell check is not an editor! On page after page I have had to stop and figure out from context what is being said. It stops the flow of ideas and the movement of the story line. HarperCollins published this book but it is a sad, ignorant, demoralizing shadow of the original story. I almost feel that something that I remembered as beautiful, even elegant, is now found as a tired, dissipated and debauched whore hustling for a couple of dollars in back alleys and doorways. This edition of Alas Babylon also demeans your company. There was a time when publishing houses were held up as lustrous paragons of and protectors of the language. You made our literary heritage accessible to our culture. You had standards. Is the luster completely gone? Has all pride in the product you offer been subsumed in a frenzy for dollars at any cost? One of your authors has a great and I believe a pertinent quote. She said, "Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself". If you know this is happening, then it is too late and your reputation will not be maintained for long. If you were not aware it is time to fix it! --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/219775-alas-babylon-the-classic-apocalyptic-novel-of-courage-survival-determination](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/219775-alas-babylon-the-classic-apocalyptic-novel-of-courage-survival-determination) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-08-12*