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On the Beach
 
 
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On the Beach (Paperback)

by Nevil Shute (Author) "LIEUTENANT COMMANDER PETER HOLMES of the Royal Australian Navy woke soon after dawn ..." (more)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 296 pages
  • Publisher: House of Stratus; New edition edition (18 Sep 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1842322761
  • ISBN-13: 978-1842322765
  • Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 13.5 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 184,185 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Book Description

Australia is one of the last places where life still exists after nuclear war starts in the Northern Hemisphere. A year on, an invisible cloak of radiation has spread almost completely around the world. Darwin is a ghost town, and radiation levels at Ayres Rock are increasing. An American nuclear-powered submarine has found its way to Australia where its captain has placed the boat under the command of the Australian Navy. Commander Dwight Towers and his Australian liaison officer are sent to the coast of North America to discover whether a stray radio signal originating from near Seattle is a sign of life.


About the Author

Nevil Shute Norway worked as an aeronautical engineer at Vickers before setting up his own airship company. He served in both world wars and was a commander in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in World War II, working on secret projects. He flew his own aircraft to Australia to research On the Beach, before settling there permanently. His books are based on his own wartime and aircraft industry experiences.
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First Sentence
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER PETER HOLMES of the Royal Australian Navy woke soon after dawn. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

33 Reviews
5 star:
 (22)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (33 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Tear-jerker, 27 Dec 2006
By DangermouseZilla "He's the strongest, he's th... (Doncaster, Yorkshire, UK.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
When I started to read this I found some of the language a little wooden, but it gives the book an innocent charm which is in stark contrast to the situation the plot finds itself in.

Australia is the last place on Earth habitable as the world is in the grip of a radiation cloud, the Australian people know they have very little time. This is a fantastic premise - and the ordinary goings on show how the people react to the situation.

A glimmer of hope from a radio signal coming from the US creates a bustle of activity as the signal is investigated.

This book is one of the most haunting I've ever read, it is a beautiful piece of work. I finished the book whilst on the bus home and I actually cried at the end.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, 9 Jun 2006
By Brian Moore "BHM" (Scotland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I can only concur with those who have given this excellent novel five stars and agree that it is one of those rare books which grips you emotionally and stays with you long after you have finished it. I don't think the dialogue is quite as corny as some reviewers have indicated, rather it is probably reflective of its time. Some of the (more minor) characters are fairly poorly drawn (Peter's wife, for example) but I don't think this accusation can be levelled at most of the principal characters, particularly Osbourne the scientist who I think Shute develops well throughout the narrative.

In summary I would strongly recommend this novel.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Horrific view of a possible future, 10 Feb 2003
By Anna (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
In light of the present situation of possible war and refusal to rule out nuclear strikes, Nevil Shute’s Cold War Era novel still remains spine-chillingly plausible.
Nuclear war in the northern hemisphere has created deadly radioactive rain clouds, obliterating all life as it steals southward. The novel opens in Australia where the last civilised life awaits certain death. Shute tells the story of the last months in the lives of the last people on earth. Whether consumed by reckless abandon or clinging to the glimmer of last chance salvation the doomed characters challenge the reader to consider what choices they would make.
Although written over fifty years ago it remains virtually timeless as a wakeup call to all of us about the unimaginable horrors, nuclear weapons could unleash.
Horrifying and disturbing yet beautifully written
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Still dramatic after all those years...
I read this first in the early 60s when we were still scared of the Cold War and MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. R. N. Shackelford

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the few books that really left an impression on me
I used to read a lot of novels and have ready many of Nevil Shute's.

He has, I suspect, become a little unfashionable these days, because his stories, albeit... Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. Saxby

5.0 out of 5 stars A post-apocalyptic masterpiece. A very powerful read.
First published back in 1957 `On the Beach' was one of the last novels by the British-Australian author Nevil Shute, before his death in January of 1960. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Chris Hall

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable...
...well, insofar as a book about the end of life on earth can be enjoyable. Until I got the book, I'd only ever seen the film, during the making of which Ava Gardner was said to... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Teemacs

3.0 out of 5 stars Rearranging Deckchairs on the Titanic.
Shutes books contain a readable style, but 50 years after most were written, they don't stand up to those who could fuse technical details with plausible relationships. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Andrew Moules

5.0 out of 5 stars "...my only friend is darkness" psalm 88:19
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 (don't build bombs book). Read more
Published 14 months ago by bernie

5.0 out of 5 stars Eerie, haunting, fabulous
Compared to a Town Like Alice, OTB feels like a completely different author.

I wouldn't describe myself as a science-fiction fan, but I'm not sure that I'd describe... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Muppet

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read book!
This is quite simply one of the best books I have read in the last 10 years. Considering it was written 50 years ago, it is still relevant today. Read more
Published 20 months ago by T. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Shocking
This is a warning, though it may have held more consequence when it was written during the cold war where fears of nuclear holocaust were far more real than they are today, it is... Read more
Published 20 months ago by D. M. York

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth Reading
I do not usually read this genre of book; this book was suggested to me after someone learnt of my like for `When the wind blows' by Raymond Briggs. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Christopher Withers

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