On the Shore

The nuclear war has destroyed all life in the Northern Hemisphere. Only south of the equator does life still exist, but not for long — a huge radiation cloud is already drifting in that direction and will cover Australia in a few months. There, on the last shore of civilization, the locals and the crew of a miraculously surviving American submarine await their inevitable end. Each person chooses how to spend their remaining time. The novel by Nevil Shute, published in 1957, created a stir and is still considered one of the most shocking and sobering portrayals of the consequences of nuclear war. The novel has been adapted into film twice, with the 1959 version starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, and Fred Astaire receiving two Oscar nominations.