On the Beach

By Nevil Shute

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0582537754
• ISBN13: 9780582537750
• Release Date: January 1900
• Publisher: PERENNIAL LIBRARY
• Length: 122 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

My only friend is darkness - Psalm 88.

The basic story is that Albania sends a plane with another country's markings to bomb the U.S., and we retaliate. However, this is not a pacifist (do not build bombs book.) This is not a sci-fi book. It could be speculative fiction or just speculative. The story begins after the war is completed, and radiation is now covering the world. Australia is the last place to be covered. You read how different people are about to meet their end, some with hope, others with reckless abandon. Still, there are those like the US sub commander Dwight Towers who are loyal to their country to the end by not allowing U.S. property, in the end, to fall into the hands of the Aussies. The book was written in the Cold War era. So many people think that it is about countries and war; others think this story is an anti-war story. The reality is that it is a study of people meeting a sure end and how they react. Other readers will balk at the actions of the people in this story; yet when they meet the same situation, we will see how realistic the characters are. Still, others will balk at the predictability of the characters. Still, this is how many people get over a crisis by being predictable. It is these characteristics that make this novel timeless. Someone else must think so, or they would not have made an updated version for our not-too-distant future. As usual, movies are made from this book. They do not have the depth.