"The most haunting evocation we have of a world dying of radiation after an atomic war."--The New York Times

"On the Beach played an important role in raising awareness about the threat of nuclear war. We stared into the abyss and then stepped back from the brink."--The Guardian

Nevil Shute was one of the most successful novelists of the 20th century. He was born in London in 1899, studied at Oxford and became an aeronautical engineer before turning to fiction. He joined the Royal Navy during World War II. After the war Shute migrated to Australia, where he died in 1960 having written more than 20 books, the best known of which are A Town Like Alice and On the Beach.

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