Editing On the Beach (novel) (section)

==Reception==
Historian [[David McCullough]], writing for ''[[The New York Times]]'', called ''On the Beach'' "the most haunting evocation we have of a world dying of radiation after an atomic war."<ref>McCullough, David, "Author Aviators", ''The New York Times'', Section 6, p. 50.  12 October 1986.</ref> The ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' called it "the most shocking fiction I have read in years. What is shocking about it is both the idea and the sheer imaginative brilliance with which Mr. Shute brings it off."<ref name="Official Site">{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/book/166600/on-the-beach-by-nevil-shute#praise|title=''On the Beach'' by Nevil Shute: Official Site-Praise|website=[[Random House]]|access-date=2015-01-03|archive-date=3 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103225423/http://www.randomhouse.com/book/166600/on-the-beach-by-nevil-shute#praise|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' called it "Shute's most considerable achievement", and ''[[The Times]]'' stated that it is "the most evocative novel on the aftermath of a nuclear war." ''[[The Guardian]]'' commented that "fictions such as ''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 ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' described the novel as "timely and ironic... an indelibly sad ending that leaves you tearful and disturbed", and ''[[The Economist]]'' called it "still incredibly moving after nearly half a century."<ref name="amazon.co.uk">{{cite book|title=''On The Beach'' (Vintage Classics)|id={{ASIN|0099530252|country=uk}}}}</ref>

[[Floyd C. Gale]] of ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'' called the book "an emotional wallop. It should be made mandatory reading for all professional diplomats and politicians."<ref name="gale195803">{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/galaxymagazine-1958-03/Galaxy_1958_03#page/n119/ |title=Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf |magazine=[[Galaxy Science Fiction|Galaxy]] |volume=15 |issue=5 |date=March 1958 |access-date=2015-01-03 |last=Gale |first=Floyd C. |pages=119–122}}</ref> [[Isaac Asimov]] said, "Surely to the science fiction fan—as opposed to the general public—this must seem very milk-and-watery. So there's a nuclear war to start the story with—and what else is new?" He described the novel as an example of what he called "'tomorrow fiction'", and "there can be nothing duller than tomorrow's headlines in science fiction".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/nightfallotherst00asim#page/92/mode/2up|title=Nightfall, and other stories|last=Asimov|first=Isaac|date=1969|publisher=Doubleday|pages=93}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=X, Y, Z, T: Dimensions of Science Fiction|last=Broderick|first=Damien|publisher=Wildside Press LLC|year=2004|isbn=9780809509270|pages=82}}</ref>

The novel does not realistically describe the effects of a global nuclear war, which were poorly understood at the time. It does not portray any form of [[nuclear winter]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Brians |title=Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction |url=https://brians.wsu.edu/2016/11/16/nuclear-holocausts-atomic-war-in-fiction/ |publisher=[[Washington State University]] |date=5 January 2015 |access-date=14 September 2017 |edition=Updated online |archive-date=14 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914125632/https://brians.wsu.edu/2016/11/16/nuclear-holocausts-atomic-war-in-fiction/ |url-status=live }} This updated, online version of the published work, ''[[Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction]]'' (1987), contains extensive discussion of Shute's book.</ref> In the survival manual ''[[Nuclear War Survival Skills]]'', [[Cresson Kearney]] describes the novel as "pseudoscientific" and "demoralising", arguing that it and similar works perpetuate the myth that any large-scale nuclear war would inevitably wipe out all human life. This myth, argues Kearney, is dangerous as it discourages people from taking precautionary measures that could save lives in the event of a nuclear attack, in the mistaken belief that any precaution is futile.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Nuclear War Survival Skills|last=Kearney|first=Cresson|publisher=Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine|year=1987|isbn=0-942487-01-X|pages=11}}</ref>