February 2025

S M T W T F S
      1
23456 78
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425262728 

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Tuesday, December 27th, 2005 09:38 am
One of the many books I got for Christmas this year was "Failsafe", by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. I'm not done, but it's a great book so far. Unrelated to its content, however, it got me thinking: which books should be on the nuclear war reading list?

So far, I would name:
  • "Alas, Babylon", by Pat Frank (Harry Hart) – one of the best descriptions of the aftermath of a nuclear war.
  • "Failsafe", by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler – a good story, exploring the possibility of an accidental nuclear attack.
  • "Warday", by James Kunetka and Whitley Strieber – another story about the aftermath of a nuclear war. Not so realistic as "Alas, Babylon", as it suffers from an excess of sci-fi zeal, but a worthy book on its own merits.
  • "The Curve of Binding Energy" by John McPhee – a good nonfiction book about nuclear issues.

I suppose "Farnhan's Freehold" by Robert Heinlein is a contender for the position, but it's much more concerned with the alternate future he proposed than with nuclear war. What other books should go on the list, though?