How to Survive the H-Bomb and Why

About this book

Thermonuclear warfare and its consequences have been a primary concern of Pat Frank's ever since he wrote his first novel, Mr. Adam, published in 1946. Here he presents the essence of his sixteen years of thought and research on how to face such a disaster, psychologically and physically, what we can do to defend ourselves, and what our Civil Defense and other government agencies are doing to help us. The gist of his message is that all of us can multiply our chances for survival if we make some basic preparations, starting now, and that there are moral reasons why all of us should dig in. "To do so," he says, "is a definite deterrent against nuclear war. And should war come, the acts of individuals in sheltering themselves could mean saving half of those who otherwise would die." Here we learn what we might expect, should an attack come, from the moment the alerts sound through the first few days after we emerge from our shelters. Here is level-headed advice on how to protect ourselves from fallout and radioactivity, the basic food and medical supplies to have on hand, and many other practical considerations which have occurred to the author as he prepared his own household for the possibility of war and its aftermath. And although Mr. Frank is convinced that we should brace ourselves for nuclear attack, he also sees hope for peace as the stockpiles of nuclear weapons grow so tall that they become ludicrous, even to the people who erect them. "It is finally apparent," he says, "that the issue is not man against man, but man against the bomb."