On the Beach

An almost true story about the aftermath of the very brief WWIII (due to the inclusion of nukes). Considering how one man prevented this from happening during the Cuban Missile Crisis, this story is quite realistic. It lets you look into the psychology of people who have the luxury/curse of knowing the date of their death because of the upcoming nuclear fallout. It gives them fear while also letting them truly live. It's an interesting concept to observe as you wonder just how you would live if you knew when you were going to die. Nevil Shute pulls no punches as this is a very sad story overall.

Be warned however that unless you find the subject matter fascinating you may not greatly enjoy this. It can be a little depressing and there isn't much excitement in the story. It is more about observing how ordinary people in Australia live knowing they will soon be dead because of a war they did not want.

On the Beach, written by Nevil Shute and published in 1957 is a somber post apocalyptic novel that follows survivors in Australia after a nuclear war and subsequent radioactive fallout has contaminated most of the world. Much of the story revolves around an American nuclear submarine, the last of the US Navy, docked in Melbourne and under the command of Captain Dwight Towers. The post apocalyptic world has been contaminated with high levels of radiation stemming from the use of cobalt bombs by the Russian and Chinese military forces. This story is character driven, focusing on the struggle for people to maintain some sense of purpose in spite of their doom. It was slightly disappointing that most of the people in On the Beach basically give up and passively accept death. Why didn’t they attempt to create a shelter in which some people could survive until the levels of radioactivity decreased? (scientists mention several times that the radioactive cobalt has a 5-10 year half-life) Released at the height of the Cold War, On the Beach has elements of a warning or cautionary tale and is clearly written with some political intentions in mind. While On the Beach is a well written novel that explores some important ideas worthy of consideration, it is slow-paced and uneventful at times. If you are looking for excitement and entertainment you may want to look at some other reading options.

I've had this book on my list to read for quite a long time. I was glad to finally find it on audible, and it didn't disappoint. If you're a fan of Hemingway's war novels, I'd say this would be a safe bet for you. Its a little sad and depressing given the bleak subject matter, but still a good and ultimately rewarding read.

My favorite part of the audiobook was the narrator who does a fantastic job. In particular, I loved his voice for Capt. Towers. Sounds like a weird mix of Christopher Walken and Dean Martin! I quite enjoyed it.

Any thought of doomsday is not attractive. This novel portrays a possible scenario of the elimation of mankind based upon faulty information.

I've become intrigued with the Post Apocalyptic novels, and this is one of the "classics" in the genre. Much different than any of the others where there is a sense of urgency to make the right plans, gather the right equipment, and fight off bandits to fight for survival. This one is based in Australia where life continues, for a while, following a worldwide nuclear devastation and the Southern Latitudes are just waiting for the fall out to arrive. This is a look at how people behave when they know the end will come for them in the not so distant future.
It's an interesting take on the genre and an entertaining listen. Good character development, and narration. I'm glad I read it but found it a bit lazy compared to more of the thriller types and the audio quality was never equalized. I was constantly needing to adjust my volume to understand what was being said.
All in all, it was worth the credit.

Sad, Real, Brandy

Maybe more details during the sub missions.

I didn't really have a favorite.

No. it just made me very sad.

This book could send you right over the edge... WOW. What a hopeless story. Umm, I just couldn't understand why these people, given like a whole year to prepare, couldn't use all of the resources they had to build an underground shelter to house as many people as possible. They had plenty of time to come up with a decent system of underground living area that could have given them a fighting chance to survive as many years as possible trying to wait out the nuclear winter.

This is not a book about submarines, survival, apocalypse, disaster. This could very well have been a book about a group of people dying of cancer. In other words: We are sick, we know we are dying, we know how much time we have left, we know everyone else is dead, how do we cope until the end. Depressing and slow. If you enjoy being depressed and listening to people lament, then this book is for you. Zzzzzzzz!