Fail Safe

I had read this book maybe 40 years ago when I was in school. I recommended it to my 17 year old son for a book report in light of all the conflicts in our world today. He not only was "in awe" after reading the book, he got an A on his report. If you read the book, follow it up with the movie... the original (black and white) NOT the remake! Larry Hagman plays the role of Buck superbly!!!!!

The ultimate "What if..." novel of the post-War era, FAIL-SAFE still holds up remarkably [and tragically] well in the post-9/11 era. Several critics have pointed up the political aspects of this book, but in a way this is more of a sci-fi novel in the sense that the technology of war would safeguard us against danger when the opposite is the truth: reliance upon technology is equally dangerous. Read this novel as a precursor to the film "War Games" or the t.v. movie of early 70s, "Colossus: The Forbin Project".But even as political thriller, this book is still powerful. All the characters stand up well and are truly believeable. The plot and pacing are gripping. Considering Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler had had no real writing experience previous to FAIL-SAFE, it is just as compelling and well-crafted as anything written by Tom Clancy. That's how good this book is.Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS

Although it is now close to FORTY years old, "Fail-Safe" puts today's crop of political novelist to shame. A more compelling story has not been written.The story is simple: a mechanical error send a group of U.S. Bombers towards the Soviet Union. The President tries mightily to recall them, in an effort to avoid the inevitable Soviet retaliation. He has to make an incredible sacrifice to keep the world from World War III.Forget about the incredibly complex turns of my favorite writer of this genre, F. Forsyth. T. Clancy 's interwoven stories and mind numbing detail does not even come close to this simple, chilling story. Could it happen? Of course not, because of the fail-safe system. Or so they tell us... Like Coke, this is the real thing.

Fail-Safe is all about the technology and problems with it during the cold war. After the plot kicks in, Fail-Safe becomes a griping novel that is difficult to put down. I really enjoyed the very suprising ending, it is a real shocker.

I first read this book back in junior high school shortly after it had originally been published (I'm dating myself here). It was a cutting edge thriller then and the subsequent movie was Dr. Strangelove without the laughs. I read it again recently and while it pales pyrotechnically (and just plain technically) compared to Tom Clancy fare, it is a thrilling snapshot of the paranoia of the early 60's.