Frank, Pat. Alas Babylon (New York: Bantam Books, 1976) 312 p.

The librarian of Fort Repose, Florida is Alice Cooksey, “tiny, drab in black and gray, an active, angry sparrow of a woman ...” (p. 22). She is thoughtful and sensible when the nuclear holocaust changes the world in an instant. She is ready when the sudden change of circumstances makes information so important and the small public library busier than it has ever been.