The End of the World and Beyond

This collection has been holding up some shelves for many years now after the aborted YK2 event and now with the disappointing Mexican end to last year it seems a good enough time to purview what could have been a glorious future amongst the rubble of civilisation. From the urban despots of an British war ravaged countryside to cosmic intervention, humans have come up with many ways to destroy their precious landscape - here are some samples of Man's Folly...

My first apocalyptic read as a teenager

Earth Abides - G.R. Stewart - Corgi Books - 1956

The Coming Dark Age - R. Vacca - Panther - 1974

Black August - D. Wheatley - Arrow - 1960

The Zilov Bombs - D.G. Barron - Pan - 1962

The Crucified City - P. van Greenaway - Pan - 1962

Survivors: Genesis of a Hero - J. Eyers - Futura - 1977

Fugue for a Darkening Island - C. Priest - New English Library - 1973

The Offshore Island - M. Laski - May Fair - 1959

No One Will Escape - H. H. Kirst

Ende - A. Guha - Corgi - 1986

The Bright Phoenix - H. Mead - Corgi - 1960

On The Beach - N. Shute - Pan - 1969

On The Beach - N. Shute - Signet - 1958

This Is the Way the World Ends - J. Morrow - Ace - 1989

End of the World - D. Owen - Ace - 1962

After The Bomb - G. D. Miklowitz - Point - 1985

For Zachariah - R. C. O'Brien - Heinemann - 1989

Alas, Babylon - P. Frank - Readers Book Club - 1961

Tomorrow! - P. Wylie - Popular Library - 1954

The Hills Were Liars - R. Hughes - All Saints Press - 1962

Epidemic! - F. G. Slaughter - Hutchinson - 1961

Plague - J. Black - Belmont Tower - 1978

Three Quarters - G. de Timms - Digit - 1963

Panic O'Clock - C. Hodder-Williams - New English Library - 1973

A Scent of New-Mown Hay - J. Blackburn - New English Library -1968

The Coming of the Rats - G. H. Smith - Priory - date unknown

Tide - Z. Hughes - Berkley Medallion - 1975

The Day the Tide Went Out - C. E. Maine - Corgi - 1958

The Day the Oceans Overflowed - C. L. Fontenay - Bridbooks - date unknown

The World In Winter - J. Christopher - Sphere - 1978

The Death of Grass - J. Christopher - Penguin - 1963

Hello America - J. G. Ballard - Triad Granada - 1983

The Drought - J. G. Ballard - Penguin - 1968

The Drowned World - J. G. Ballard - Penguin - 1968

I Am Legend - R. Matheson - Corgi - 1977

And So Ends the World... - R. Pape - Panther - 1963

In the Days of the Comet - H.G. Wells - Fontana - 1978

The White Mountains - J. Christopher - Beaver - 1981

The City of Gold and Lead -  J. Christopher - Beaver - 1981

The Pool of Fire -  J. Christopher - Beaver - 1981

The War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells - Golden Press - 1978

Planet of the Apes - P. Boulle - Signet - 1964

Escape From the Planet of the Apes - J. Pournelle - Award - 1973

Survivors - Z. Ben Jonah - self published - 2003

Beyond Armageddon - edited by W.M. Miller, Jr & M. Greenberg - Robinson - 1985

Apocalypse Movies - K. Newman - St. Martin's Griffin - 1999

Armageddon for beginners - D. McKay - self published - 1999

And to sum up, Mr Welsman pondered on an unlikely premise that what if we weren't here tomorrow.. how would the Earth cope? Who would read his book?...

to be continued...