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Level 7

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Nuclear war is both a fascinating and a terrifying topic for literature. One of the most famous, and affecting, pieces of literature ever written about the aftermath of a nuclear war is "On the Beach" by Nevil Shute. The terror and hopelessness the citizens of Australia feel as the deadly radioactive cloud slowly and inevitably moves towards their continent is palpable and harrowing to read. During the same period that Shute wrote "On the Beach", another noted author, Mordecai Roshwald, wrote an equally compelling novel about the preparations and aftermath of nuclear war, called "Level 7".

"Level 7" is a reference to the deepest level of underground shelters that humanity will be sequestered in should this horrible kind of war come to pass. The perceived importance of the people housed in the respective levels increases with each successive level. Level 1 is simply ordinary citizens who will receive minimal shielding from the bombs. Level 5 has the government and military planners, while Level 6 houses the soldiers who will be in charge of defensive countermeasures during the war, and Level 7 houses those whose horrific (and one-time) task will be to fire the offensive nuclear missiles at the enemy. Level 7 is several thousand feet underground. It is seemingly impervious to the effects of a nuclear attack and is a self-sufficient living environment designed to sustain the survivors (and their offspring) until such time as the surface becomes safe to return to. Those selected for the Level 7 assignment have passed a rigorous set of psychological tests that require said soldiers to not be afraid of firing missiles that can end mankind, to not be concerned with being cut off from humanity, and to be prepared to do what is necessary to ensure humanity's survival.

The story of "Level 7" is told in journal form from the perspective of one of the soldiers tasked with firing those awful weapons. He is only referred to by his operating number and his view of events is, to say the least, unique. He doesn't seem to be particularly bothered by his assignment to Level 7. His description of entering the level through one-way doors through which there is no return is so calm and disaffected that the prospect of such a terminable existence seems even more terrifying to the reader than if he was panicky. When the time for the war comes, he doesn't seem particularly bothered about the fact that he has to push one button to launch several offensive weapons and then his usefulness is complete (save for perpetuating the species). He views with pity the fate of one of his fellow soldiers who goes absolutely insane when faced with the prospect of having to fire the missiles that may wipe out humanity. In relatively short order, the war begins and in ends. All that is left is to assess the damage to wait for the day when it is safe to return.

Alas, even the best laid plans like this multi-tiered shelter fall victim to the merciless tendencies of war and nature. The top most levels are either wiped out instantly during the attacks or poisoned almost immediately by radiation. While the former warring countries come to terms of peace (via radio, obviously), the effects of the war continue to wipe out one level after another. The horrifying realization begins to settle in that no one will survive this war. Much like "On the Beach", "Level 7" leaves to reader with the sad image that after death, there will be no more life.

I would consider this book, written in 1954, to be the most sobering book about nuclear war written to date. The story is told in diary form, written by a missle technician only known as x-127. The story starts out as the solider x-127 and 250 other soliders (men and women) head down deep into a underground bunker called Level 7. The bunker is a immense system of tunnels and bunkers about 4000 ft underground. Room enough for the buton pushers, engineers and scientist to continue our way of life after a nuclear holocaust strikes. The mood of the story is grim, as X-127 realizes that once he makes the desent down into Level 7, there is no turning back to the outside world. The government has deemed the soliders in the bunker the saviors of our way of life. They have enough food, water, and air to last them 5 lifetimes.

Well, eventually it gets to a point where a war breaks out. There are not descriptions of nuclear explosions, or firey death raining down on the populace's heads. Instead the author portrays the war through the eyes of radar technicians and button pushers who only see blips on radar screens and are told via a loudspeaker on what buttons to push.

After the war, which is totally destructive. Radiation spreads and wipes out life on the surface. A clautrophobic life in a bunker becomes stiffeling for X-127 has he watches and listens to his fellow soliders start to loose it in a "not so" hermetically sealed bunker.

This story is very sad, and chilling. The last paragraph of the story has to be the most riveting paragraph I've ever read.

Level 7 represents the journal of Officer X-127, a member of an elite Armed Forces unit. X-127 has been ordered to the bottom-most layer (level 7) of a highly secure facility, where he is ordered to set off a massive nuclear attack. The facility is a city unto itself, four thousand feet underground and fully prepared to withstand a direct attack and the resulting radiation for many decades.

Chosen for their ability to follow orders and to withstand the confines of the facility, X-127 and his fellow officers must now come to grips with the fact that they may, in fact, never leave. The surface of the Earth has been transformed into a radiological wasteland, but those in the facility -- some of whom represent a "continuity of government" operation -- will be safe.

Or so it seems. Reports of radiation poisoning begin to filter in from the higher levels of the facility. With a gripping, impending sense of doom, Roshwald takes us into a journey into the true meaning of mutually assured destruction.

I first read this book upwards of 30 years ago. It has never left me. Was it because I was young? Impressionable? I don't know, but the book certainly left an indelible footprint in my mind that few, if any, other work can match. Whatever Roshwald constructed in Level 7 was utterly unique and memorable beyond description.

The review written and shown is much to my liking since it captures the essence of the book. It does not, however, present the reality which I felt at the age of 12 years, as I read it. More important than the storyline, is the impact on the reader. With all due respects to the person who adequately and accurately described this work, I feel compelled to let the reader know that the fear and reaction created by the book, because it is so brilliant, is more important than the plot. This is to Nuclear War, as To Kill a Mockingbird is to justice. That is the nature of such a powerful message. Read this book, it is wonderful....

Believe it or not, I first read this book when I was 10. It is one of the scariest books I have ever read. Needless to say, it had quite an impact. I came across a copy of it about five years ago and bought it. The sense of devastation at the end is total! Now that I am an adult, however, I think Roshwald over does it with his anti-technology bias. Being in the military, I can tell you that the type of totally automatic systems depicted here (i.e., the atomophone) would never be fielded. Even so, it provides a powerful warning to those who think a nuclear war is winnable.

Splashed across the cover of Level 7 reads, "A horrifying, prophetic document of the future - the diary of a man living 4000 feet underground in a society hell-bent on atomic self-destruction" which does the book no justice at all. Perhaps the rear cover puts the novel into a better light as it reads, "He is safe from nuclear war... safe from sunshine, blue skies, and love. His perpetual assignment is the Bomb - to stand guard ready to push the button that will turn the world into a charred ember of smoking death..." Now, while the back cover sums up the story better, it still doesn't do the book much justice.

It's not exactly poetically sculpted nor is it poorly written, rather, it's a day-to-day journal of a not-so-common man in his not-so-common job and his contemplations on earth's situation, his reflections on his subterranean society and his experiences being a push-button operator. Officer X-127, as he's know to his colleagues, friends and eventual wife paints a detailed picture of what Level 7 is, how it operates and what purpose it ultimately serves. Being 4400 feet underground in a hermetically sealed bunker and being twelve buttons away from the end of the world might make you a bit philosophical, psychotic or just plain numb. We witness the scope of these mental reflections in both
X-127 himself and in the others around him.

It's a depressing read, that's true. It'll make you sympathize with all five-hundred of the Level 7 cave-dwellers, the other million or so making up the remaining six levels and even the poor populous stranded on the surface. Level 6 at 3,000 feet deep houses 2,000 military defense personnel and is just as self-sufficient at Level 7, but more prone to contamination, old age and insanity. Level 5 at 1,500 feet deep will house 20,000 elite members of society for about 200 years. Level 4 at 1,000 feet deep will hold 100,000 important people for 100 years. Level 3 is 500 feet deep and will hold 200,000 important individuals for only 25 years. The last two Levels are 100 feet and 60 feet deep and are both designed to hold one million people each but are much more susceptible to all things dangerous in a limited or total nuclear war.

There's so much detail, it's almost juicy if it weren't dryly written. For the sheer sake of exploring Roshwald's leveled world, this is a sci-fi gem.

After having just read "Level 7", I am left feeling almost terrified. To live in a world where the nuclear war is even the faintest of possibilities is gravely unacceptable, and this book reinforces that notion. To experience that which X-127 does is unimaginable, and I would consider it a fate worse than death. Overall, this is an amazing book, in my opinion, and I would recommend it to anyone who wonders what life would be like after a "total nuclear exchange".

Finding this book on Amazon was like discovering a long-lost old friend. I first read it in 1971, and that book was old and falling apart. The tale it tells of deep underground 'button-pusher's' is an interesting psychological study, and is not your typical doomsday book. I highly recommend it.

The book I read was published in 1959-before I was even born. I hesitated reading it but was glad I did.

Some people are "selected" to be permanently moved underground to "survive" IF there is ever a nuclear war. Depending on "who" they are, they can be placed on one of 7 Levels with the lower you go down the more important you are. Level 7 people are safer and more important than level 1 people and the humanity up top are apparently worthless.

People below are named after their jobs like TN-237m for Teacher/Nurse number 237 married instead of just Jack or Joe. If you worked in Air Supply your name would be AS-your number in your job, etc. People get married over an intercom and break up just as easily. The book is about the psychological aspects of people being treated like a number and how they feel after the nuclear war (there is one) and being stuck down in the different levels and how they feel as the levels die.

I enjoyed the book even if it was written in 1959. I didn't miss the characters not having cell phones and lap tops because the book was about the characters behavior. Human nature hasn't changed because people would act the same way today.

I read Level 7 for the first time in seventh grade for a book report. When I finished that book, I was moved beyond belief. Roshwald's vivid and horrifying words was enough to make me appreciate the terrors endured by my parents during the Cold War and to appreciate the world I live in today. I recommend this book to anyone searching for a meaning in life, or to anyone just looking for an excellent piece of literature.