Customer Reviews

Not This August

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"Not This August" is novel written in the mid-1950s and its basic theme is the defeat of the United States by the combined forces of the Soviet Union and Communist China. America is beaten and encircled by Communist armies and navies, and finally capitulates. The story is set in the aftermath of defeat during the occupation of America by Russia and China.

Needless to say, this story is badly dated since America survived, the Soviet Union did not, and China transformed. No matter. This novel was a terrific read back in the bad old days of the Cold War (when I read it) and it is a fine read even today. What would it be like if America were utterly defeated militarily by bitter enemies? This novel provides some speculative answers. C.M. Kornbluth is a good storyteller, and this novel captures and keeps the reader's interest from the first powerful sentence to its rather improbable ending. No matter that some of the politics are dated. This is an excellent story.

Highly recommended. RJB.

An interesting take on what it would be like after the Soviets came (in 1965!).

The US (and Canada) have fallen before a combined Sino-Soviet offensive, with virtually no nuclear weapons used, and now, in upstate NY, life tries to go back to normal, except what does that mean?

Kornbluth provides a good story, if somewhat dated, including the American Resistance, life in a small American town under Soviet occupation, and the bloody results of internal Soviet rivalry. It's interesting to read about how controlling the occupation authorities are on the one hand, and how they could be circumvented on the other.

The original of this Novel was published in 1955. That's in the middle of the Eisenhower administration. Macarthy and every one else was seaching for Commies under every bed and Korea was a atand off without a treaty (there is still nothing but a cease fire). This novel is an artifact of the cold war. It stands up because Kornbluth is A good writer. I came across a copy in a library in the 1960's. I remembered the Title as Christmas Eve. Since it has been listed elsewhere as Not this August aka Christmas Eve. It may have been reprinted with that title. Pohl obviously tried to revise it in 1981. That was probably a bad idea. He needed to footnote all the references in the text that people who did not live through the 1950s or know it's checkered history would not understand (e.g. the Rosenbergs). That Kornbluth was a product of his times is obvious when he has the main character's freinds up the road turn out to be a communist sleeper cell. Also he makes the assumption quite common in the 50s and 60s that Russia and China would cooperate militarily. Well, I suppose if Mao had seen something to gain. However, he may have seen a war betweenh Soviets and the United States as a great way to exhaust both and gain more power for China and himself. When I was 13 there were school maps showing Russian supplied totalitarian regeimes as a mosterous red stain encompassing the globe. The same applied to the American mindset of the 50s. We still need an anotated version of Not this August. This edition gives you some idea of the original, but is you could find the other used, you would be better served. Kornbluth still remains a cracking good story teller. So if you can get only this copy by al means.