[lexicon]

This book is from 1959 dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. It's a very fast read, very engaging, with a great story and interesting characters. Parts of it are very dated, including the racial and sexual politics, as well as the fact that the book does not address nuclear winter shutting down photosynthesis, which I doubt anyone knew much about in 1959.

So why do I recommend it? I think for those who are familiar with Peak Oil and how it will disrupt modern society, this book illustrates how being prepared for survival is essential. The book definitely paints a vivid portrait of how life goes on after the economy completely collapses. Some people just give up and die because they can't cope with a world without money, but others dig in and use what is available within their environment to survive.

I think the human race has a much better chance of surviving Peak Oil than a nuclear holocaust. Then again, we also face the possibility of Peak Oil triggering a nuclear holocaust. Barring that apocalyptic scenario, life will go on. But we need to be in a place like Fort Repose, where people can live off the land, have easy access to water and have a strong sense of community where everyone is looking out for each other.

[DomusAlbion]

It was a very good read and is part of my permanent collection.

Well in 1959 we and the Soviets didn't have the capacity to cause a Nuclear Winter as we didn't have the requisite number of nukes of sufficient yield at that time and of course public knowledge was limited.
The idea of Nuclear Winter did not become part of our understanding until sometime in the 1970s I think.

[savethehumans]

I liked the "fish analogy" in that book: most people who survive will be like guppies. The ones who can get us through the aftermath will have to be catfish. (I've often wondered if there's such a thing as a catfish guppy, cuz I'm kind of a cross between the two. But in this modern age, geneticists could probably MAKE one; so maybe PO will make catfish guppies out of a lot of us! I hope. . . .)

[mmunroe]

I read this book back in the late sixties and did a book report on it. It has always been one of my favorite science fiction books. I am not sure it really contains much practical advice for the disaster awaiting the world as a result of global warming, oil depletion and mass starvation. However, it does provide an example of good planing as a previous post observed.

Another good book in the "after the holocast" genre is "A Canticle For Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller. This book is recognized as a masterpiece in the same ranks as "Brave New World" and "1984." It is still in print.

This book tells the story of the rebuilding of "civilization" after the world has been returned to a pre printing and pre technology age. I recommend it to anyone. You can decide for yourselves if you hope that the world recovers technology or not.