Level 7

by Mordecai Roshwald, David Seed (Editor)

Level 7 is the diary of Officer X-127, who is assigned to stand guard at the "Push Buttons," a machine devised to activate the atomic destruction of the enemy, in the country's deepest bomb shelter. Four thousand feet underground, Level 7 has been built to withstand the most devastating attack and to be self-sufficient for five hundred years. Selected according to a psychological profile that assures their willingness to destroy all life on Earth, those who are sent down may never return.

Originally published in 1959, and with over 400,000 copies sold,this powerful dystopian novel remains a horrific vision of where the nuclear arms race may lead and is an affirmation of human life and love. Level 7 merits comparison to Huxley's A Brave New World and Orwell's 1984 and should be considered a must-read by all science fiction fans.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Apocalyptic, War, Horror

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Roshwald was an American academic and writer. Born in Drohobycz, Poland, Roshwald he later emigrated to Israel. His most famous work is the novel Level 7, a post-apocalyptic science-fiction novel. He is also the author of A Small Armageddon (1962) and Dreams and Nightmares: Science and Technology in Myth and Fiction (2008).

Roshwald was a "professor emeritus of humanities at the University of Minnesota, and a visiting professor at many universities worldwide."

He was residing in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States at the time of his death.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book during the 1961 Berlin crisis while still in primary school. Science fiction was already an addiction and I'd put away a book or two a day when school wasn't in session. Politics was also of interest since Dad had been a vocal supporter of Kennedy against Nixon the previous year as well as active in community affairs. Indeed, he took me to village board meetings, encouraging my interest in public affairs and reading of the newspaper.

The Berlin crisis had lasted from the previous spring and had resulted in the erection of the wall dividing the city and daily newspaper reports. I recall being frightened by one headline about imminent war in particular. Although fascinated by things military, the idea of actual warfare terrified me, particularly in light of the thermonuclear capacities of powers engaged. On at least one occasion I recall having run to Mother, crying.

Level 7 was probably obtained at the nearest library, out in East Dundee, Illinois. It had everything: military stuff and politics in a science fiction wrapper--a sure thing. It scared the shit out of me.

Sometimes I've marveled at how kids seem to enjoy horror stories, how modern kids I know gravitate to horror films. For me, the horror was contemporary politics.

It still is.

[John Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that rewards patient reading--its cumulative power is immense. We follow the diary of a man who lives on Level 7 of a bunker where the best and brightest go in a kind of experiment to see how humans would endure extended life in isolation after a nuclear holocaust. The details of day to day life are interesting enough, but the book's best aspect is the growing sense of dread that our protagonist will have to do his duty in case of war.

Once he does this simple, unremarkable act, his life in the bunker is, literally, without purpose, and he and the reader await the end of the war above. But things don't go as expected.

In my collection of favorite post-apocalypse novels, EARTH ABIDES, ALAS BABYLON, and A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOVITZ are now joined by LEVEL 7. It may not be as richly-written as EARTH or CANTICLE, but in its stripped-down simplicity it has great emotional impact. It is a fine fictional warning about what might await those who are 'lucky' enough to survive a first strike.

[Veeral · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Review below contains some spoilers.***

Bleak. With no chance of redemption whatsoever. If you like happy endings, you might want to stay away from this book.

This book is quiet similar to On the Beach and Alas, Babylon, both in the era in which they were published and the primary subject matter with which they deal: nuclear apocalypse. While I personally found On the Beach totally unimpressive and a drag, Alas, Babylon became one of my favorite novels.

So where does "Level 7" stand?

Well, while it may not become one of my favorites, it comes very close to being one. I found it scientifically more accurate than "Alas, Babylon" and "On The Beach". But in one department, "Level 7" truly is way better than both these classics. And that is: Depicting Human Psychology about War. Roshwald has described the human psychology about war with total (and so, quite discomfiting) accuracy, which is the most unsettling as well as interesting aspect of the book.

There are no names. No names at all. Enemy is called just the "enemy" and allies "allies". Even people living in the bunker are not known by what might be their original names. For example, the protagonist is known only as X-127 from whose personal diary "Level 7" takes form. He lives in a bunker named "Level 7" with 500 people which is 4400 feet underground. He is a "Push-Button" officer, the one that pushes buttons to launch nuclear missiles and annihilate the world when such orders are received.

This book is a scathing satire on war and the mentality which prevailed especially during the Cold War era.

A must read for anyone who liked books such as Alas, Babylon and even dystopian classics like 1984 and Brave New World, as apart from the apocalyptic scenario, there is also a strong dystopian feel to "Level 7".

4.65 Stars.

[Diana Welsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Level 7 is the tale of a military man who lives in a bunker 4,400 feet below the surface of the earth. His job is to sit in a room and wait for the command to push a series of buttons which will unleash complete nuclear destruction on the earth. He is not told why he is to go into the bunker beforehand, and when he gets there he finds out that he must spend the rest of his life there.

He's not the only one down there. There are two more people like him who wait in shifts for the command to come. Then, there is an army of nurses to care for their physical needs, scientists who keep the air flowing, psychologists to pooh-pooh the worries of those who miss fresh air and sunshine.

Level 7 takes the form of this man's diary, the only thing that keeps him sane in this unbelievable situation. You never learn his name or the country of his citizenship.

When the day of horror finally arrives, our man records the events and his thoughts and feelings, and he later discovers that the truth about this war is more horrifying and depressing than he had previously imagined.

This book might give you nightmares. However, it is just barely Cold-War-Era dated and far-fetched enough to not be as scary or depressing as it could be. It's insanely memorable and I recommend it to everyone I know who likes nuclear war stories, but I had to subtract a star for its sexist, dated attitude towards women.

[The Frahorus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Facente parte del genere post-atomico, ci troviamo in una storia abbastanza claustrofobica (il protagonista si ritrova a vivere in un bunker antiatomico sotterraneo dal quale non potrà mai più uscire) e dove, in prima persona, il protagonista stesso ci narra la sua vita da recluso e la sua decadenza psicologica, fino al finale catastrofico.

Mi è piaciuto anche per il messaggio che vuole lanciare l'autore, ovvero che ogni tipo di guerra, naturalmente inclusa quella atomica, non fanno per nulla bene a noi abitanti della Terra, peggio ancora se dovesse scatenarsi quella atomica distruggeremmo, oltre a noi, la stessa Terra. Mordecai chiaramente ci dimostra che l'essere umano, o chi ci comanda, spesso è cieco e che farci la guerra a vicenda non è mai una buona idea.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure where this book would rank on my list if I re-read it now - but it left an indelible mark on the mind of my twelve-year-old self. Aside from weeks of nightmares about an atomic war, it’s influenced my opinion of every other post-apocalyptic novel I’ve read since . . . usually to their detriment, as none of them ever hit me emotionally in quite the same way.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deeply sarcastic dystopian novel regarding the stupidity of nuclear weapons, decisions behind and behaviour of people involved. However, I have found the characters and writing too dull to empathize with the enormity of the act.

[Giacomo · Rating 4 out of 5]

come ho già scritto in altre recensioni, io sono particolarmente appassionato del genere atomico/post-atomico degli anni '50. Mi affascina terribilmente.
il biennio 1957-1959 è magico per la letteratura in questo senso. In due anni escono: L'ultima spiaggia di Shute (il post-atomico romantico), Alas Babylon di Pat Frank (il post-atomico dei valori americani), Tempo Fuor di Sesto (il post-atomico paranoico di Dick, libro geniale) e questo, il posto atomico psicologico.
Del resto siamo sostanzialmente al picco della guerra fredda più pura, Eisenhower è ancora presidente, i test atomici continuano indisturbati all'aria aperta, ci sono foto di bombe atomiche che saltano in aria dappertutto e si ragiona su cosa potrebbe succedere perchè le persone non si chiedono SE potrebbe succedere una guerra atomica, ma quando potrebbe succedere. Di lì a poco la tensione salirà ancora a tavoletta (l'abbattimento dell'U2 di Powers è del 1960, la crisi dei missili di cuba del 1962) per poi mutare, distendersi o meglio trasformarsi (vietnam, afghanistan etc.).
Insomma questo libro è semplicemente figlio dei tempi. La trama è abbastanza semplice, così come la forma con cui viene riportata la vicenda, un diario. Anche lo stile di scrittura è fatto di frasi lineari, chiare, senza troppi virtuosismi, proprio come se li scrivesse una persona con un'istruzione "normale".
Quello che colpisce è come viene restituita la lenta (oddio lenta a guardare le date non pare) discesa negli inferi (siamo pur sempre molto sotto terra) del protagonista, che va in parallelo con la discesa agli inferi dell'intero genere umano.
La critica al governo, alle istituzioni, al sistema globale messo in piedi per proteggere non si capisce bene cosa (cosa proteggi se non puoi nemmeno salire e camminare nella terra che dovresti proteggere) è feroce e non fa sconti a nessuno. Così come l'indottrinamento fatto sugli esseri umani, che di questo sistema sono gli strumenti, è smembrato e messo alla berlina nella maniera più cruda possibile.
Non c'è ottimismo nel futuro perchè in quel periodo secondo alcuni il futuro sarebbe stato quello (leggetevi il personaggio interpretato da Walter Matthau in A Prova di Errore per capire di cosa sto parlando).

Grazie a chi su goodreads me lo ha fatto scoprire perchè era veramente un lacuna da colmare.

[Reynard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ero molto titubante ad affrontare questa lettura per varie ragioni.
Anzitutto il tema trattato, la guerra nucleare, è importante e serio, per quanto troppo spesso dimenticato o banalizzato (che forse è peggio) negli ultimi decenni. Io ero teenager nei primi anni 80 e ricordo sia la parte finale della guerra fredda sia il disastro di Černobyl, il tutto sicuramente acuito da un'età, quella attorno ai 15 anni, in cui si è ipersensibili e i cui ricordi restano indelebili anche da adulti.
Questa premessa personale era importante per far capire che ho affrontato questa lettura non "alla leggera" e che sento molto il tema trattato nel libro. A ciò si aggiunge il fatto che questo romanzo, sconosciuto ai più, gode di un'ottima fama fra gli appassionati di fantascienza. E in questi casi il rischio di rimanere delusi è sempre molto alto.
Venendo finalmente al libro, dopo le prime pagine interlocutorie, il racconto decolla subito approfondendo gli aspetti sociologici della società in cui il protagonista si trova a vivere. La scrittura in forma di diario, semplice e asciutta, è uno strumento perfetto attraverso cui Roshwald indaga e approfondisce, ancor più nella seconda parte del libro, l'aspetto psicologico dell'apocalisse sull'animo umano.
Livello 7 è un libro splendido, senza una parola di troppo, imperdibile per gli appassionati di fantascienza. E forse anche per tutti coloro che pensano che "l'apocalisse" sia quella propinataci negli ultimi anni, l'avventuretta di improbabili ragazzini unici sopravvissuti di un imprecisato virus che ha ucciso tutti gli adulti.
Il mio voto: 4,5 stelle.

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I am the god who pushed the buttons," says the narrator, a dull nuclear weapons technician who happens to be the proximate cause of starting World War III. Later, he apologizes for this atypical and unprofessional lapse into poetry.

[Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ever since reading "Survivor Type" by Stephen King at what was most likely too young of an age, I've been a sucker for the whole writing-a-diary-while-going-mad genre. If you're willing to suspend the disbelief required of the best examples of this writing, i.e., how on earth are you still writing stuff down when you're insane?, then it can be a real treat, as far as I'm concerned.

Unfortunately, this book is not a shining example of the crazy diarist. Although the initial premise is quite exciting, the execution is more dull than anything. X-107 or X-117 or whatever his name is descends into a bunker 400 miles underground to wait for an inevitable nuclear war & writes quite banally about his predicament. Luckily, a helpful overhead voice breaks down the different levels of confinement from 7 on up and the people who'll be stuck there, so he transcribes that to mind-numbing effect. No one has a name, only a number, and while I get that this is probably a plot device to show how cruelly inhuman the military can be, it basically serves to make it impossible to remember who is who or forge any human connection with anyone. Then an unintentionally (surely) hilarious interlude once all the "buttons" are pushed and the world has been destroyed by nuclear weapons; both sides, us and our enemies, get on radios from their respective underground holes & yell at each other for starting things. "We fired at you just because you fired at us!" "But we fired at you because you fired back!" and so forth. Luckily, towards the end, everyone starts dying as each level becomes contaminated with radiation. X-10-whatever becomes the last man on earth, continues keeping his diary, and the last 15 or so pages are really pretty macabre. It's no "Survivor Type", though.

[Marcele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides so much food for thought. It's incredible how humanity have to destroy what they have in the hope that they will win something completely unnecessary.

[Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Level 7 isn't truly a book that I just read. It's a book that I've just re-read, which is a bit different. With over 25 years since the first reading, however, my views and appreciation for the art intrinsic in the novel have changed a bit.

First off, I should say that the copy I first read was without the preface found in my new copy. For first time readers I'd recommend reading that preface after the whole of the novel. It's rather heavy-handed in reinforcing the spin of the novel and rather ruins the ending for first-time readers.

Level 7 is in diary format, the words and thoughts of push button officer X-127 as he lives in an underground shelter. The naming (or rather numbering) convention is clever in that it allows the reader to identify him with either of the superpowers of the cold war era.

This was my first exposure to this sort of fiction, though I've read a great deal more in the intervening years. If you're a fan of the faux-utopian visions of Aldous Huxley, Yevgeny Zamyatin, or George Orwell, I'd recommend giving it a read. For the easily disturbed and those who need a happy ending, steer clear.

[Derek · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book reads like a twisted version of Plato's Republic - a dissertation on the sort of society and people required to commit and survive atomic armageddon. It is a coldly logical social structure inhabited by emotionally stunted human beings, whose purpose is to be the push-button operators for otherwise fully-automated weaponry, and later to continue the species.

Parts border on parody. From their deep-hole bunkers, politicians spit vitriol upon their enemy counterparts, even after such chest beating becomes pointless.

As a warning and social statement, it is something of a relic.

[Ilia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kind of wish I didn't read this book. Don't know what possessed me to keep reading it. Worst writing style I remember in a while. It is clear that the author was going for a kind of satire, setting up straw-man characters to poke fun at. Didn't work. Don't read it, really.

[Michael Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Level 7 is the story of an atomic war, and of the post-apocalyptic world briefly succeeding it. Written at the start of the race for nuclear domination, in plain Cold War's mid-1950s, Mordecai Roshwald 's book was aimed to be a deterrent to atomic weapons and related politics. Overall, a frightening book that reads poorly; had it not been for the topic, a solid 1-star.

The plot is simplistic--the two world super-powers have both acquired nuclear bombs sufficient to wipe each other out. When the trio military, politicians, and technology experts realize that a second-strike policy (that is, a policy of being able to strike back after a nation's own annihilation, for example by launching a retaliatory and equally annihilating attack coordinated from an impenetrable bunker) is technically feasible, both nations act upon it and set up a set of automated tools. Only a few people are still needed to operate the infernal machine, perhaps to enable each country's leaders to override the automatic control, perhaps because it serves the author better. In any case, a hierarchy of bunkers is built, to host civilians, politicians, and military in case of nuclear attack from the opposite side, and, for a subset of the sheltered military, to retaliate with a devastating attack of their own. The military in charge of the retaliation are specially selected and psychologically trained to be capable of "pressing the button", the physical act of igniting thousands of atomic-bomb-carrying rockets through the push of one button. They are sequestered underground and wait for the order, which does not fail to arrive. The atomic war is fought and, as expected, lost by all sides. Powerful message transmitted: thou shalt not carry through a nuclear war!

Mordecai also raises interesting philosophical questions, about the nature of the individual, about boredom, about the psychology of being imprisoned, about the notion of an enclosed utopian state, etc., but the book is short so the questions remain without proper answer.

Unfortunately, the main anti-nuclear message is not compensated by either believable characters or reasonable writing. There is also a problem of the morals present in the book being outdated.

The characters, besides being wooden in expression, lack believability - - always obeying orders although there is little stick, to the point where the reader can easily find the main actors as mere puppets. Where is the stick, when the place where the main action happens, Level 7, has been physically isolated from the rest of the world, for 500 years?! Why would the characters switch to calling each other by military names (such as X-107 or P-123)?! Where would such sociopaths be grown in the Western society?! Etc. In his 2003 preface, Roshwald discusses this aspect, claiming that the main actors are by design so inhumane. However, this explanation may explain the actions of his characters, but makes the story similar to the bad horror movies of the early 2000s, in which the viewer simply knows that the normal human response would have averted the danger. There is only one believable character, the neurotic X-107 who ignites three series of rockets but then refuses to press the button for the last and most destructive, but he has only an episodic appearance and is replaced without stopping the attack.

The writing is terrible, for today's standards. The text moves slowly and does not seem to match the diary format. The constructs seem also outdated.

To conclude: this is a book to read, but perhaps it should have been written as non-fiction, as a realistic what-if scenario. Read it this way and you may find it useful.

[RANGER · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold War Classic, Post-Apocalyptic Nuclear Protest Fiction for TEOTWAWKI
Polish-born Mordecai Roshwald was a humanities professor at the University of Minnesota and author of numerous academic treatises on Theology and social issues. In 1959, at the height of the post-war Atomic Panic, he decided to tackle the issue of the looming Nuclear Apocalypse by writing Level 7, a science fiction social commentary on the Bomb that became his best-selling, best known work and a classic of the genre.
Every "The-End-of-the-World-as-We-Know-It" (or TEOTWAWKI for short) novel has an ironic twist that begs for social commentary. The apocalypse or armageddon or the collapse is Man reaching the height of his evolutionary/technological/woke-awareness/civilization only to discover it's a house of cards, doomed to die as a result of a nuclear war, natrual disaster, cosmic disaster, alien invasion, environmental disaster, economic collapse, dystopian chaos, zombie apocalypse, rapture, pandemic, civil war, or the Second Coming. It's as if human beings, with all their secular scientific advancements and thinking simply cannot escape the deep-rooted notion that divine justice is inevitable and mankind is doomed.
That feeling was strong in the 1950s, when people assumed an Atomic War was a push of a button away.
Mordecai Roshwald felt another academic article about the Bomb would only preach to the choir. So he chose to write a piece of protest fiction he hoped would reach the masses. He was so ignorant of the fiction market he didn't even realize he was writing "science fiction." Indeed, he succeeded beyond his expectations and Level 7, despite its transparent attempt to make people wake up to the reality of their political leader's willingness to keep them in bondage to the Bomb, became a best-seller and a classic of apocalyptic fiction.
Level 7 is the purported diary of a "Push-button" warfare (PBX) officer who is doomed to live out his existence in Level 7. Level 7 is a self-sufficient, sealed atomic bunker designed to protect the PBX officers of his unit and all of their support staff in the event of a nuclear war. It is also designed to perpetuate the human race in the likely event that nuclear war destroys all life and renders the earth uninhabitable for 500 years. The story is meant to be social commentary and doesn't depict with any accuracy what life in a 1950's missile silo or bunker was really like.
In fact, the author goes out of his way to create his own reality, never hinting at what real-world superpower is behind Level 7.
The world of Level 7 has two nuclear superpowers whose only real differences are dialectic. Allies and satellite nations surround them but are never named. Roshwald naively hoped that by writing without specifics or naming names, Level 7 might be published on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The novel's ending is about what is to be expected, although the introduction to the book, in which a Martian archaeologist finds and translates our PBX officer's diary, essentially spoils the ending.
It's a fine sci-fi novel and the only one Roshwald ever wrote. While some of the lengthy discourse about life in Level 7 is dull and implausible (pandemic veterans will wonder why there are no exercise machines or streaming channels to watch), this is, after all, a social commentary... but one wrapped in a very readable and fascinating science fiction TEOTWAWKI wrapper.
Read it! It is recommended.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I found most disturbing about this novel was not the hopelessness of the Level 7 dwellers, buried thousands of feet beneath the earth, then assigned to annihilate humanity and continue living for 500 years. I suppose we've heard that story before and become dulled to the prospect of a fusion armageddon. I was more repelled by the personalities of the individuals on level 7. X-127 guesses that they must have all been chosen for their mission because they don't like others, and are all somewhat antisocial. Without any ties to the surface, the pushbutton officers can carry out their orders without hesitation. However, they also dislike the others within their own community, and are incapable of building real relationships on Level 7.

This was a first novel, and lacks some polish and focus. However, it is worthwhile as a quick reading experience.

[Tex-49 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scritto nel 1959, in piena guerra fredda, questo romanzo mantiene ancora oggi la sua carica emotiva. Bellissimo, ci fa veramente vivere in prima persona la realtà di una guerra atomica, da cui non si sarebbe salvezza !!!

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretentious twaddle disguised as lame science fiction.

[Sraah · Rating 5 out of 5]

divided we live, united we die!

•

Just another planet. The earth was always that, anyway.
But not just that: for there were other things on earth.

•


ok i feel s i c k as f k
my tummy 🥺
this book made me want to flail around like i’m covered in bugs and wanna get them off me
i feel unclean
holy depressing claustrophobic panic attack
i could not
no sir
i felt so much dread, horror, daunting fear
i kept staring outside while i was at work and just … appreciating what i could see
the sky sun clouds birds grass life !!
life!! the earth!!
the earth
my heart hurts after this
this was scarier for me than a lot of horror driven books because well, yeah. life.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grim and bleak. I liked how the absence of identity was explored on both a personal and societal level. Everyone is a number; orders are automated; we never learn the names of any characters. We don't know anything personal about the narrator, not even the country he is "fighting" for. I think this made the threat of total nuclear annihilation more interesting. The man who must initiate it must lose all his connection to humanity to do so (and the anonymity implies that it could be anyone).

3.5/5

[Edward B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of interesting: First published in 1959, a story about push-button nuclear armageddon, told through the diary of a guy, permanently isolated deep underground, whose job is to push the appropriate button if/when told to via loudspeaker.
Roshwald takes every effort to obscure whether said guy is on the Western side or the Soviet side.
It's hard to appreciate, in 2021, the height of fear that must have been a constant background in those days of the Cold War.

[Patrick St-Amand · Rating 5 out of 5]

***4.25 stars***

Definitely a product of the Cold War era but it's a fascinating glimpse of the prevailing fears that must have plagued people during that period. Dystopian fiction mixed with musings on life, death and humanity.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book about nuclear war. It really put into perspective how horrific and dumb it all is and how much it relies on people just following orders. The structure of it as a diary of an inhabitant of Level 7 is very compelling.

[Lyaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that causes one to ponder the big questions, from the use of autonomous weapons in total and limited warfare to what it means “to be” as a person in adverse and ideal circumstances. Merits multiple rereads.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feel like I just got punched in the chest. Read the diary first, and then the introductions.

[Rachel Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish that I felt more connected to these characters, but I think this still serves its purpose well.

[Dean Lombard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. Simply told, very powerful. I've been reading a whole lot of nuclear apocalypse-themed novels from the 50s and 60s lately and I reckon this takes the cake. It's beautifully written; the characters are distinctive and authentic despite being described so economically; the plot is brilliantly crafted and rings true; the psychology and sociology and politics and everything is just spot on. I really can't recommend it more highly. (I do recommend that you don't read the lengthy, scholarly introduction until you've read the book though, as it is full of spoilers.)

[Sanika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply unsettling.

Hopefully not prophetic.

I know this last bit makes me sound like a cynical fool, but we just never know when someone will push a button somewhere.