On the Beach

On the Beach is about a subject that many writers would be too afraid to discuss. It tells of the terrible effects of a worldwide nuclear war. In 1957, when the book first appeared, many people were afraid of nuclear arms and radiation. The first nuclear bomb was tested in New Mexico in July 1945. In August 1945 nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, killing 70,000 people immediately. Many more died later from burns and radioactive poisoning. From 1946 until 1958 the United States tested nuclear bombs on Bikini Atoll. Those who had been living on the island were allowed to return there in 1969, but had to leave again in 1978 after the lasting effects of radiation became clearer. This story takes place in Melbourne, Australia. There has been a terrible nuclear war in northern countries. All life has been destroyed there by radiation. In Melbourne some people are still alive. Peter and Mary Holmes and their baby daughter Jennifer are trying to live their lives as normally as possible. The story tells how life changes for this family, and for their friends and neighbours, as the deadly radiation slowly moves south towards them.