I ran across this book when I was in high school. It used to be required reading in our high school classes and my brothers had to read it. It looked interesting, especially since I'm of a certain age that was at the tail end of the cold war paranoia. I was fascinated by the group of characters. Even though, as others have pointed out, race relations are very dated, I didn't find that distracting. I did, however, think it was strange that fallout couldn't travel to their small community.

Still, the characters are so strong that you can quickly become captivated by them and their struggles. The discussion here as mentioned other similar books. One that hasn't been mentioned is Tunnel In the Sky by Robert Heinlein. Teenage students become stranded on a planet and must band together to survive. I remember that one of the main characters actually doesn't want to go back to civilization when they are rescued. He liked his community and what they had going for them. Also, I think he liked the power he had accrued. Check it out and see what you think. ( )

What a fantastic book! Wonderful characters lace this captvating story of survival after a nuclear exchange. I loved seeing some of the ideas reused in the film 'The Road Warrior': scarcity of gasoline, the Highway men(outlaw scavengers), and Randy's modified truck. I was also impressed by the progression of the characters and their relationships. The small town setting and intimate narrative style reminded me of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. The last 50 pages went by in a flash. ( )

Wow! I read this years ago, but had forgotten it. As I started to get into it, I recognized the story vaguely & expected it to be dated. It was written the year I was born, so is 50 years old, but I found it wasn't as dated as I thought. I did take some trips down memory lane; radios with tubes in them & a few other minor items. The small town, rural life weathered time very well, though. The lack of electricity is a hardship & they felt it. We'd feel it more today, so the story actually engaged me more as I thought of more items I would miss.The Cold War tensions when we feared a global nuclear war are gone. They've been replaced with a more diverse threat - terrorism. The lack of electricity to power water pumps, refrigerators & more would be even harder on us today. It's very easy to project that from this story. What we imagined as the major threat back then, radiation poisoning, is mentioned, but is not critical to the story.One thing which is dated is the racial aspect, thankfully. Blacks are definitely second class citizens, but even this is used well. The 'second class' citizens rely less on technology & have more to offer toward survival than the elite - a not so gentle nudge for equality definitely pervades the book.Ultimately, the book is about the people & how they cope with the situation. That's well done & makes it a pretty timeless survival story. ( )

What can I say. It is a classic and one of the best post-apocalyptic books out there. Granted, I read this during the knuckle-biting nuclear cold-war days, but I believe it stands the test of time as an account of how a PA situation may unfold.
Highly Recommended! ( )

(Michele, 2009)