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Mr. Adam: A Classic Atomic Age Satire – Dark Humor Science Fiction from the 1940s
Originally published at the dawn of the Atomic Age, Mr. Adam is a riveting, chilling novel from the author of the post-apocalyptic classic Alas Babylon, revealing the dangers of nuclear power—and the far greater danger of government bureaucracy.
A young newspaperman accidentally turns up the biggest story of his On a certain date in the not-too-distant future, there are no reservations in the maternity wards of any hospitals in New York. When the journalist’s AP office checks other cities, he discovers that this alarming state of affairs is not just in the United States, but in the entire world. A few months earlier, an accidental explosion in an atomic plant in Mississippi released an unknown form of radiation that turned the Earth’s men sterile—with one notable exception.
Mr. Homer Adam, who was at the bottom of a lead mine in Colorado at the moment of the explosion, is the only man unaffected by the atomic rays. Naturally, he is in great demand, and sadly, it’s up to the government to decide what to do with him.
One of literature’s first responses to the atomic bomb, Mr. Adam is an artifact of classic science fiction—an equally biting satire and ominous warning to society—that will resonate deeply with readers today as it did when it was first published in 1946.
A young newspaperman accidentally turns up the biggest story of his On a certain date in the not-too-distant future, there are no reservations in the maternity wards of any hospitals in New York. When the journalist’s AP office checks other cities, he discovers that this alarming state of affairs is not just in the United States, but in the entire world. A few months earlier, an accidental explosion in an atomic plant in Mississippi released an unknown form of radiation that turned the Earth’s men sterile—with one notable exception.
Mr. Homer Adam, who was at the bottom of a lead mine in Colorado at the moment of the explosion, is the only man unaffected by the atomic rays. Naturally, he is in great demand, and sadly, it’s up to the government to decide what to do with him.
One of literature’s first responses to the atomic bomb, Mr. Adam is an artifact of classic science fiction—an equally biting satire and ominous warning to society—that will resonate deeply with readers today as it did when it was first published in 1946.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1946
77 people are currently reading
621 people want to read
About the author
Pat Frank
28 books635 followers"Pat Frank" was the lifelong nickname adopted by the American writer, newspaperman, and government consultant, who was born Harry Hart Frank and who is remembered today almost exclusively for his post-apocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon. Before the publication of his first novel Mr. Adam launched his second career as novelist and independent writer, Frank spent many years as a journalist and information handler for several newspapers, agencies, and government bureaus. His fiction and nonfiction books, stories, and articles made good use of his years of experience observing government and military bureaucracy and its malfunctions, and the threat of nuclear proliferation and annihilation. After the success of Alas, Babylon, Frank concentrated on writing for magazines and journals, putting his beliefs and concerns to political use, and advising various government bodies. In 1960 he served as a member of the Democratic National Committee. In 1961, the year in which he received an American Heritage Foundation Award, he was consultant to the National Aeronautics and Space Council. From 1963 through 1964 the Department of Defense made use of Frank's expertise and advice, and this consultancy turned out to be his last response to his country's call. His other books include Mr. Adam and Forbidden Area.
Biography courtesy of HarperCollins.com
Biography courtesy of HarperCollins.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
March 6, 2017
"If I were God," he said, "and I were forced to pick a time to deprive the human race of the magic power of fertility and creation, I think that time would be now."
Following the accidental explosion of an atomic plant in Mississippi, it appears that all males are now sterile.
"Since Mississippi blew up, no babies have been conceived anywhere on earth, so far as we can find out."
Oopsy-daisy! That can't be good.
Oh, but wait a minute - a baby girl is born in New York state, and the father is one Homer Adam, a man who was at the bottom of a lead mine in Colorado on the day Mississippi went poof. Suddenly, this gawky, unassuming man is a person of interest to every country, scientist, and woman on the planet. Government agencies spring up and begin fighting over who will be in charge of Adam's gonads.
But, there's one very big problem . . . Mr. Adam doesn't want to be the new father of the human race. This, of course, doesn't make the government men very happy.
"From now on the status of Adam is that of a valuable experimental animal. Now that sounds crude and harsh, I know, but that's the way it has to be. The Army will have charge of his feeding and his welfare, and if necessary, they can hold him just exactly as a political prisoner would be held. And the N.R.C. can perform whatever experiments they see fit. That's final."
Can Homer Adam escape their clutches, or is he doomed to spend his remaining days like this:
Originally published in 1946, the author, a former journalist, was inspired to write this book by the bombing of Hiroshima. He turned that horror into a fairly witty comment on human society in the post nuclear age. There's plenty of snappy, rapid-fire dialogue reminiscent of films from the forties. I particularly liked this line:
Besides, nobody really missed Mississippi.
The ending ties up two storylines - one was predictable, the other was not - and for that unexpected one, I'll award three stars. This book is not awful; it just seems tired and dated. The Children of Men does this theme better, with more bang for your reading buck.
Following the accidental explosion of an atomic plant in Mississippi, it appears that all males are now sterile.
"Since Mississippi blew up, no babies have been conceived anywhere on earth, so far as we can find out."
Oopsy-daisy! That can't be good.
Oh, but wait a minute - a baby girl is born in New York state, and the father is one Homer Adam, a man who was at the bottom of a lead mine in Colorado on the day Mississippi went poof. Suddenly, this gawky, unassuming man is a person of interest to every country, scientist, and woman on the planet. Government agencies spring up and begin fighting over who will be in charge of Adam's gonads.
But, there's one very big problem . . . Mr. Adam doesn't want to be the new father of the human race. This, of course, doesn't make the government men very happy.
"From now on the status of Adam is that of a valuable experimental animal. Now that sounds crude and harsh, I know, but that's the way it has to be. The Army will have charge of his feeding and his welfare, and if necessary, they can hold him just exactly as a political prisoner would be held. And the N.R.C. can perform whatever experiments they see fit. That's final."
Can Homer Adam escape their clutches, or is he doomed to spend his remaining days like this:
Originally published in 1946, the author, a former journalist, was inspired to write this book by the bombing of Hiroshima. He turned that horror into a fairly witty comment on human society in the post nuclear age. There's plenty of snappy, rapid-fire dialogue reminiscent of films from the forties. I particularly liked this line:
Besides, nobody really missed Mississippi.
The ending ties up two storylines - one was predictable, the other was not - and for that unexpected one, I'll award three stars. This book is not awful; it just seems tired and dated. The Children of Men does this theme better, with more bang for your reading buck.
September 29, 2024
“There were riots in Paris, but there are always riots in Paris”
Post-apocalyptic and dystopian, cynical, cautionary, satirical, hilarious, concerned, realistic, evocative, ominous, thought-provoking … MR ADAM is all of the above and a good deal more besides.
Consider a hypothetical world in which a nuclear accident sterilizes every man on the planet except Mr Adam, a rather unassuming, mildly introverted man with a definite case of low self-esteem, who happened to be working deep in a mine shielded by vast quantities of lead deposits at the time of the accident. Pat Frank’s brilliant (but hopefully not prescient) tale tells the disconcerting story of a shocked world’s reactions to the situation from a variety of possible perspectives – young vs old; male vs female; government or military vs citizens; nation vs nation; and, of course, Mr Adams vs the rest of the world who see artificial insemination (with him as the sole source of semen) as the only possibility for the continuation of the human race (as if that is necessarily a good thing, LOL!).
Easy, easy, easy to recommend to other readers and a definite incentive to explore Pat Frank’s more widely known classic, ALAS, BABYLON.
Paul Weiss
Post-apocalyptic and dystopian, cynical, cautionary, satirical, hilarious, concerned, realistic, evocative, ominous, thought-provoking … MR ADAM is all of the above and a good deal more besides.
Consider a hypothetical world in which a nuclear accident sterilizes every man on the planet except Mr Adam, a rather unassuming, mildly introverted man with a definite case of low self-esteem, who happened to be working deep in a mine shielded by vast quantities of lead deposits at the time of the accident. Pat Frank’s brilliant (but hopefully not prescient) tale tells the disconcerting story of a shocked world’s reactions to the situation from a variety of possible perspectives – young vs old; male vs female; government or military vs citizens; nation vs nation; and, of course, Mr Adams vs the rest of the world who see artificial insemination (with him as the sole source of semen) as the only possibility for the continuation of the human race (as if that is necessarily a good thing, LOL!).
Easy, easy, easy to recommend to other readers and a definite incentive to explore Pat Frank’s more widely known classic, ALAS, BABYLON.
Paul Weiss
July 15, 2009
This is almost the same plot as Children of Men, done as comedy in the 40's. Yeah. After a nuclear accident, every dude in the world is sterilized. Except for one dude, a Mr. Adam, who was at the bottom of a lead mine at the time. So the whole world goes crazy for this guy, and the government more or less takes him prisoner for the purposes of >gasp< artificial insemination.
So it's interesting, and sort of fun, the somewhat unpredictable mixture of ideas that we consider completely old-fashioned and ones that seem quite modern. The main character is a reporter, and his wife spends most of the book trying to maneuver her way around him into some viable sperm. But, as anyone who's ever seen a screwball comedy can guess, all the crazyness works out in a rather conventional way, and all the problems are neatly solved without any real threat to the bonds of matrimony.
So it's interesting, and sort of fun, the somewhat unpredictable mixture of ideas that we consider completely old-fashioned and ones that seem quite modern. The main character is a reporter, and his wife spends most of the book trying to maneuver her way around him into some viable sperm. But, as anyone who's ever seen a screwball comedy can guess, all the crazyness works out in a rather conventional way, and all the problems are neatly solved without any real threat to the bonds of matrimony.
August 27, 2017
This was the first book I checked out as a twelve-year-old armed with a brand new "adult" library card. A novel about the only fertile man left in the world after a horrible nuclear accident titillated my adolescent imagination. I reread it sixty years later to see if it was still funny. Author Pat Frank's background was as a journalist; this is evident in his sparse and direct writing style. Frank's far-better-known novel is "Alas Babylon" which is also apocalyptic. The story is an excellent send up of bureaucracy in all its forms and of government bureaucracy in particular. The original Kirkus Review said "this will entertain a selected, superior audience." It is unapparent to me why only superior readers would enjoy this book. Or is it that, if one is entertained by reading the novel, this reaction demonstrates the reader's superiority?
October 11, 2018
Stati Uniti, anni '40, sicuramente prima degli eventi legati ad Hiroshima e Nagasaki. Un'esplosione in un sito nucleare nello stato del Mississipi (evento mai accaduto ma non tanto impossibile o improbabile) minaccia la sopravvivenza del genere umano.
Con lucido e impietoso sarcasmo, l'autore descrive la reazione americana a questo evento e prende in giro la burocrazia e la politica che si mobilitano per proteggere l'unico uomo in grado di salvare la specie.
Un romanzo divertente e amaro nello stesso tempo, avvincente fino all'ultima pagina.
Con lucido e impietoso sarcasmo, l'autore descrive la reazione americana a questo evento e prende in giro la burocrazia e la politica che si mobilitano per proteggere l'unico uomo in grado di salvare la specie.
Un romanzo divertente e amaro nello stesso tempo, avvincente fino all'ultima pagina.
May 16, 2019
Interesting concept, and I want to read Alas, Babylon now...but there were an awful lot of plot gaps. Definitely worth the read though.
September 28, 2019
First sentence: I suppose it is up to me to tell the story in its entirety, because I broke it in the first place, and I lived with it from then on, and I grew to know Mr. Adam. My name is Stephen Decatur Smith, and before I got involved in the most important story in the world I was a feature writer on the New York staff of AP.
Premise/plot: What if all the men in the world—minus one Homer Adam—were sterile?! Stephen Smith stumbles into a story with global implications. The lead he follows—there are no births scheduled after June 22 in New York City hospitals. Why? Is this true only in New York? Only in the North? Only in the U.S.? Only in the Northern hemisphere? Will any babies ever be conceived again? Is the human race doomed to die out? Many months go by, and then...a baby is born—a baby girl. Turns out that one man at least has not been effected by the nuclear disaster that has completely eradicated the state of Mississippi. His life will never be the same again. Everyone wants to own Mr. Adam and control him. Everyone wants to have a say in how the world is to be repopulated or populated. Not really differing in how—AI. Is artificial insemination the only hope for the human race?
My thoughts: Mr. Adam is a comedy written in 1946. Yes, it’s about a serious subject—the short term and long term effects of nuclear experimentation and use. Will the development of nuclear power and nuclear bombs lead to man’s extinction? Is sterilization a just consequence of man’s rashness or stupidity? At the time it was written, it was assumed that all women wanted to be mothers and that motherhood was the sole way women could lead satisfying or happy lives. Another assumption is that men don’t really care one way or another if they ever have children or not. Fatherhood is not that big a deal. Men don’t need babies in the same way that women do.
The novel is set in an unspecified future year. Frank probably could not have foreseen how AI would actually change the world giving barren couples hope. It was new and experimental, uncertain and controversial. Was it ethical? Should doctors and scientists be “playing God”? Wasn’t conception in God’s hands?
One thing is timeless about the novel—politics and politicians.
Premise/plot: What if all the men in the world—minus one Homer Adam—were sterile?! Stephen Smith stumbles into a story with global implications. The lead he follows—there are no births scheduled after June 22 in New York City hospitals. Why? Is this true only in New York? Only in the North? Only in the U.S.? Only in the Northern hemisphere? Will any babies ever be conceived again? Is the human race doomed to die out? Many months go by, and then...a baby is born—a baby girl. Turns out that one man at least has not been effected by the nuclear disaster that has completely eradicated the state of Mississippi. His life will never be the same again. Everyone wants to own Mr. Adam and control him. Everyone wants to have a say in how the world is to be repopulated or populated. Not really differing in how—AI. Is artificial insemination the only hope for the human race?
My thoughts: Mr. Adam is a comedy written in 1946. Yes, it’s about a serious subject—the short term and long term effects of nuclear experimentation and use. Will the development of nuclear power and nuclear bombs lead to man’s extinction? Is sterilization a just consequence of man’s rashness or stupidity? At the time it was written, it was assumed that all women wanted to be mothers and that motherhood was the sole way women could lead satisfying or happy lives. Another assumption is that men don’t really care one way or another if they ever have children or not. Fatherhood is not that big a deal. Men don’t need babies in the same way that women do.
The novel is set in an unspecified future year. Frank probably could not have foreseen how AI would actually change the world giving barren couples hope. It was new and experimental, uncertain and controversial. Was it ethical? Should doctors and scientists be “playing God”? Wasn’t conception in God’s hands?
One thing is timeless about the novel—politics and politicians.
August 6, 2019
Pat Frank only wrote 6 books, and this is the 2nd of his I've read. I first read Alas, Babylon (a post apocolyptic story of the ramifications of nuclear war) many years ago, so long ago, I probably should read it again. This book, is his first book and it was written in 1946. It tells the story of what happens when a nuclear accident occurs and releases an as yet unidentified radiation that renders all men sterile. It is told thru the eyes of an AP reporter that is tasked (thru an immense government bureaucracy) to support and watch over the only man who avoided the burst (he was down in a lead mine at the time, of course).
It is funny, and poignant, but perhaps a little dated in its social attitudes and mores, but that's okay it is almost 75 years old. It was considered one of the first books written about the concerns of the atomic age and how it might (and still could) affect all of us. A quick, worthwhile read.
8/10
S: 6/30/19 - 7/6/19 (7 Days)
It is funny, and poignant, but perhaps a little dated in its social attitudes and mores, but that's okay it is almost 75 years old. It was considered one of the first books written about the concerns of the atomic age and how it might (and still could) affect all of us. A quick, worthwhile read.
8/10
S: 6/30/19 - 7/6/19 (7 Days)
August 4, 2018
4.5. This was very different from what I usually read. But I loved it. It was funny and serious and poked a lot of fun at how governments run so slowly and ridiculously. The narrator had a great point of view and Mr Adam himself was hilarious.
December 1, 2019
رواية خيال طريفة تصلح للاقتباس للمشاهدة السينمائية
August 20, 2024
A mostly fun, nostalgic little novel about a man who was in the right place (the deepest lead mine on earth) at just the right time.
December 19, 2022
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was funny, interesting, and dramatic. The story drew me in, since it wasn't revolving around murder, which it seems like every fiction book is. I enjoyed reading this book start to finish.
December 2, 2017
The apocalypse has never seemed so wacky as in this book, the very first novel by Florida-born author Pat Frank, best known for his post-apocalyptic classic "Alas, Babylon." Written and published in 1946, when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a fresh memory, this savage satire is based on a very simple premise: An accident at a nuclear bomb plant in Mississippi has wiped that state off the map and also sent radiation around the world, sterilizing every single male -- except one. Gawky, red-haired Homer Adam, a mining engineer who happened to be a mile deep in a lead mine at the time of the explosion, is now humanity's only hope for survival. And he's not happy about it.
The story is told by an AP news reporter, Stephen Decatur Smith, who first breaks the story about the apparent end of the human race, and then also is the first to write about Homer Adam and his wife having a child, thus proving that there's one fertile man left. Smith is then dragooned into becoming Adam's minder, trying to get him ready for the start of a nationwide -- and possibly worldwide -- artificial insemination project. But they keep running into hurdles: self-important bureaucrats, ambitious military men, international intrigue, Russian rumors, rogue scientists, fatuous congresspeople and one particularly threatening Hollywood starlet known as "The Frame."
Through Smith, Frank tells the story in a classic '40s rat-a-tat style that will feel familiar to anyone who's read some of the other great poker-faced humorists of that era, such as H. Allen Smith ("Rhubarb"). He keeps the story moving along and the comedy rolling. The parts about the bureaucracy reminded me of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22," particularly with one character whose purpose and joy in life seems to be making complicated org charts.
Some of the satire is biting -- Southern congressmen object to Adam's sperm being mingled with that of anyone from their states who is not white -- and some of it feels dated and kind of flat-footed (the female suicide rate goes up when women discover they can't have children). There are a couple of final twists to the plot, one of them surprising, the other foreseeable from about 12 miles away. All in all, though, I enjoyed the ride.
The story is told by an AP news reporter, Stephen Decatur Smith, who first breaks the story about the apparent end of the human race, and then also is the first to write about Homer Adam and his wife having a child, thus proving that there's one fertile man left. Smith is then dragooned into becoming Adam's minder, trying to get him ready for the start of a nationwide -- and possibly worldwide -- artificial insemination project. But they keep running into hurdles: self-important bureaucrats, ambitious military men, international intrigue, Russian rumors, rogue scientists, fatuous congresspeople and one particularly threatening Hollywood starlet known as "The Frame."
Through Smith, Frank tells the story in a classic '40s rat-a-tat style that will feel familiar to anyone who's read some of the other great poker-faced humorists of that era, such as H. Allen Smith ("Rhubarb"). He keeps the story moving along and the comedy rolling. The parts about the bureaucracy reminded me of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22," particularly with one character whose purpose and joy in life seems to be making complicated org charts.
Some of the satire is biting -- Southern congressmen object to Adam's sperm being mingled with that of anyone from their states who is not white -- and some of it feels dated and kind of flat-footed (the female suicide rate goes up when women discover they can't have children). There are a couple of final twists to the plot, one of them surprising, the other foreseeable from about 12 miles away. All in all, though, I enjoyed the ride.
December 11, 2020
A suprisingly fun satire by the late author best known for ALAS, BABYLON. MR. ADAM was published in 1946 and imagines an America soon after that with political chaos not unlike today's. Nine months after a nuclear disaster, reporter Stephen Smith discovers that no babies are being born; scientists soon conclude that radiation has sterilized all the Earth's men -- until a baby is born and one man, a mine inspector, is found to still be fertile. Can his loins save the human race? Or will greed, incompetence, and paranoia destroy us? Maybe the world would be better off. As befits the time, be prepared for lots of coyness about sex (the phrase "She was all smelled up with perfume" had me rolling), a lot of medicinal alcohol consumption, and happy skewering of politicians, scientists, reporters, and more politicians.
July 15, 2014
For being published so long ago, this book felt very relevant. It gave me a lot to think about throughout. The reason I am rating it three stars instead of four or five though, is because I found myself skimming to get through some explanations. Too, although it was an easy reader, I had trouble staying interested so it took me a couple days to finish. All-in-all this book gave me sci-fi, romance, and suspense fixes all while leading my thoughts to other books about apocalyptic situations and dystopias!
August 1, 2012
•
A farcical romp through the worlds of self-perpetuating bureaucracy, bloated government, bumbling civil servants, half-baked principles underlying eugenics, quaint sexism and the frailties of a flawed "mankind.". A fast and simple read delivering an amateur's ham-handed satirical view of the New-Deal and World War II military management. Read it if you haven't much of anything else available to kill time in a bus station,
•
A farcical romp through the worlds of self-perpetuating bureaucracy, bloated government, bumbling civil servants, half-baked principles underlying eugenics, quaint sexism and the frailties of a flawed "mankind.". A fast and simple read delivering an amateur's ham-handed satirical view of the New-Deal and World War II military management. Read it if you haven't much of anything else available to kill time in a bus station,
•
May 31, 2010
I read this book over 20 years ago. "Mr. Adam" is the only male who is able to have babies and he's bombarded with women looking for a hook-up. I remember it was kind of depressing but not a bad book.
December 4, 2019
Funny how this author was so spot-on with government bullshit....even in the 40’s, when it was originally published.
March 17, 2021
If you're reading an older book, you have to expect some of its content to feel dated. And given that Mr. Adam was published in 1946, there are elements of it that feel VERY dated. But there are also elements of it that are shockingly relevant, especially after recent world events... and while an inferior book in comparison to Pat Frank's most well-known work, Alas, Babylon, it's still a brazen and cutting satire that remains eerily familiar to this day.
Several months after the explosion of a nuclear facility in Mississippi (though the text assures us this is okay because "nobody misses Mississippi"), a newspaper reporter makes a shocking discovery -- no new babies are being born. Scientific inquiry makes a further, troubling discovery -- the explosion has rendered every man on Earth sterile... save one. This man, the titular Mr. Adam, is suddenly the most prized object in the United States, if not the world, and soon he's the center of government committees, political and military infighting, and the adoration of every child-wanting woman in the country. But what happens when Mr. Adam doesn't WANT to be the new father of the human race?
If you're expecting a thriller in the vein of Children of Men, you won't get it here -- Mr. Adam is focused more on comedy and poking fun at the government than on maintaining suspense. And given that this book was written in the '40s, a lot of the content feels very dated -- there's a lot of commentary about how every woman desperately wants children (not true, though this probably wasn't discussed in 1946), some uncomfortable sexism, and some even more uncomfortable racism (though to be fair, the book does try to lampoon and ridicule some of this, even if it's not entirely successful). The plot does lag in places as well, obsessed with political minutia instead of actually carrying its story forward... though perhaps that's part of the point.
That said... Pat Frank does do a good job at giving us a cast of screwball, likable characters, and at satirizing the US government and military complex and its flaws and peculiarities. And honestly... after the pandemic of 2020, this book hit rather close to home. Didn't we see for ourselves how a worldwide disaster was instantly made into a political tool? And how so many politicians and business leaders were far more concerned with the impact on the economy than on the fate of humankind? Who would have thought that a book written in 1946 would suddenly become relevant in 2020...
While it has its flaws, Mr. Adam is a scarily relevant book, a political satire that's even more cutting with the passage of time. While some of its views are very dated, others are pretty on-the-nose... and if you don't mind political satire, I recommend giving it a look.
Several months after the explosion of a nuclear facility in Mississippi (though the text assures us this is okay because "nobody misses Mississippi"), a newspaper reporter makes a shocking discovery -- no new babies are being born. Scientific inquiry makes a further, troubling discovery -- the explosion has rendered every man on Earth sterile... save one. This man, the titular Mr. Adam, is suddenly the most prized object in the United States, if not the world, and soon he's the center of government committees, political and military infighting, and the adoration of every child-wanting woman in the country. But what happens when Mr. Adam doesn't WANT to be the new father of the human race?
If you're expecting a thriller in the vein of Children of Men, you won't get it here -- Mr. Adam is focused more on comedy and poking fun at the government than on maintaining suspense. And given that this book was written in the '40s, a lot of the content feels very dated -- there's a lot of commentary about how every woman desperately wants children (not true, though this probably wasn't discussed in 1946), some uncomfortable sexism, and some even more uncomfortable racism (though to be fair, the book does try to lampoon and ridicule some of this, even if it's not entirely successful). The plot does lag in places as well, obsessed with political minutia instead of actually carrying its story forward... though perhaps that's part of the point.
That said... Pat Frank does do a good job at giving us a cast of screwball, likable characters, and at satirizing the US government and military complex and its flaws and peculiarities. And honestly... after the pandemic of 2020, this book hit rather close to home. Didn't we see for ourselves how a worldwide disaster was instantly made into a political tool? And how so many politicians and business leaders were far more concerned with the impact on the economy than on the fate of humankind? Who would have thought that a book written in 1946 would suddenly become relevant in 2020...
While it has its flaws, Mr. Adam is a scarily relevant book, a political satire that's even more cutting with the passage of time. While some of its views are very dated, others are pretty on-the-nose... and if you don't mind political satire, I recommend giving it a look.
July 30, 2017
I found a first edition of this book for sale at an antiques mall. Critics from several newspapers loved this book, to judge from the back cover: "Fresh and startling comedy." "High grade humor: sophisticated, urbane gloriously funny." "You'll enjoy every page." Today, the plot seems hackneyed: An accident at a nuclear power plant leaves every male but one on Earth sterile without, somehow, killing anyone other than half the population of Mississippi. Incidentally, "nobody really missed Mississippi ... People felt that if any one of the forty-eight states had to be sacrificed, it was just as well that it happened to be Mississippi." To someone who lives only sixteen miles from Mississippi and knows quite a few Mississippians, this isn't as funny as it would be to someone living in, say, New York. The novel proceeds to lampoon the speed by which bureaucracies grow, their ineptitude and infighting. Every country in the world, every race, and every religion wants a piece of the sole remaining virile male, Homer Adam, a geologist who was a mile underground in a lead mine at the time of the disaster. Mr. Adam turns out to be freakishly tall, redheaded, and pathetically shy, and the thought of future generations all being gawky redheads gives even him pause. (Evidently, basketball players are not yet idolized in 1946.) He has every woman's attention and no idea what to do about it. The inevitable incest in succeeding generations isn't even mentioned (not funny enough, I guess).
I didn't enjoy the ribaldry as much as I might have. As a tall geologist living only sixteen miles from the Mississippi state line, previously working for a government agency whose operations long since lost their humor for me, I was only mildly amused by this novel. As someone who was profoundly moved by Pat Frank's masterpiece, 'Alas, Babylon', I was somewhat disappointed, even though I knew 'Mr. Adam' was a comedy.
I didn't enjoy the ribaldry as much as I might have. As a tall geologist living only sixteen miles from the Mississippi state line, previously working for a government agency whose operations long since lost their humor for me, I was only mildly amused by this novel. As someone who was profoundly moved by Pat Frank's masterpiece, 'Alas, Babylon', I was somewhat disappointed, even though I knew 'Mr. Adam' was a comedy.
June 8, 2021
In the wake of World War II that ended with devestating nuclear bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pat Frank envisioned a scenario whereby an enormous nuclear accident renders all males on Earth sterile. But ten months later, a healthy baby is born to Mr. and Mrs. Adam. It turns out that the tall and gangly Mr. Adam, crowned with a shock of fiery red hair, is the only fertile man left on the planet. He was deep underground inspecting a lead mine when the accident happened. Immediately, he is entangled in a giant bureacracy machine as everyone from the War Department to research scientists, from the United Nations to throngs of desperate women, compete to take control of Mr. Adam’s potency in a bid to repopulate… or destroy… humanity on Earth. Assessing the craziness fomenting around him, Mr. Adam says, "If I were God," he said, "and I were forced to pick a time to deprive the human race of the magic power of fertility and creation, I think that time would be now."
Pat Frank approaches the novel as a comedic satire of the red tape and political bureacracy that continues to plague the United States to this day. However, a modern reader may find less to laugh about as the situations described in Franks’ fictitious world darkly reflect our current reality. When this novel was written, science had little knowledge of the deadly effects of radiation poisoning. We know now that if a massive atomic plant exploded today as depicted in the novel, sterilization would be the least of our problems. Additionally, I don’t think Franks envisioned a world where humanity would be purveying over the death of all living things, including the Earth, with our out-of-control pillaging and plundering. Perhaps Mr. Adam was right to suggest that humans have lost the right to continue their existence. This darker line of thought is explored by Margaret Atwood in her novel on male sterility, The Children of Men.
Pat Frank approaches the novel as a comedic satire of the red tape and political bureacracy that continues to plague the United States to this day. However, a modern reader may find less to laugh about as the situations described in Franks’ fictitious world darkly reflect our current reality. When this novel was written, science had little knowledge of the deadly effects of radiation poisoning. We know now that if a massive atomic plant exploded today as depicted in the novel, sterilization would be the least of our problems. Additionally, I don’t think Franks envisioned a world where humanity would be purveying over the death of all living things, including the Earth, with our out-of-control pillaging and plundering. Perhaps Mr. Adam was right to suggest that humans have lost the right to continue their existence. This darker line of thought is explored by Margaret Atwood in her novel on male sterility, The Children of Men.
August 20, 2020
A satire of governmental inefficiency and bloated bureaucracy in the face of humanity's impending extinction - written post-World War II, sounds like 2020. If you can scrounge up a copy, I urge you to read it sooner rather than later. This had been on my TBR shelf for awhile, but sometimes you just pick the right book at the right time.
Favorite quotes: "Besides, nobody really missed Mississippi... Mississippi was the most backward of states. People felt that if any one of the forty-eight states had to be sacrificed, it was just as well that it happened to Mississippi."
"I recognized Klutz as one of those public servants who has no equals. He has only superiors or inferiors. Everybody is neatly tagged either above him, or below him." - Stephen Decatur Smith
"You cannot put a lot of people in a large number of rooms with an unlimited assortment of free liquor, and an excuse, and not have a party."
"This is a very peculiar world, and the most peculiar thing in it is the human mind." - Tex Root
Favorite quotes: "Besides, nobody really missed Mississippi... Mississippi was the most backward of states. People felt that if any one of the forty-eight states had to be sacrificed, it was just as well that it happened to Mississippi."
"I recognized Klutz as one of those public servants who has no equals. He has only superiors or inferiors. Everybody is neatly tagged either above him, or below him." - Stephen Decatur Smith
"You cannot put a lot of people in a large number of rooms with an unlimited assortment of free liquor, and an excuse, and not have a party."
"This is a very peculiar world, and the most peculiar thing in it is the human mind." - Tex Root
September 20, 2024
Interesting and fun book. I found there to be quite a bit of initial plot setup but once the story had itself in place, I really enjoyed where they went with it.
I found the book also interesting in its speculation on where the world would go after WW2. (Keeping in mind this book was written in 1946.) There are some plot issues with atomic science but that's not surprising.
It seems the author really had a pessimistic view of the waste with government bureaucracy (don't blame him). It was also very interesting how the story went into the human rights questions of controlling a human being "for the greater good" and how much control they could actually exert with 1940s technology and how much it relies on the person's cooperation.
Overall I'd suggest this as a fun quick read for anyone who enjoys speculative fiction.
I found the book also interesting in its speculation on where the world would go after WW2. (Keeping in mind this book was written in 1946.) There are some plot issues with atomic science but that's not surprising.
It seems the author really had a pessimistic view of the waste with government bureaucracy (don't blame him). It was also very interesting how the story went into the human rights questions of controlling a human being "for the greater good" and how much control they could actually exert with 1940s technology and how much it relies on the person's cooperation.
Overall I'd suggest this as a fun quick read for anyone who enjoys speculative fiction.
April 17, 2019
Thank goodness I live in a post-feminist world. Although a well-written novel, Steve Smith, the narrator, doesn't seem to think much of women. His wife, Marge, admits that women are horrible and simple slaves of their weak biology.
I think I would have enjoyed this book much more if such a dim view of women hadn't been such a fact. While men don't seem to mind not having children unless for political and social power (We must have them before another "race" gets the drop on us), the women are wailing at being "barren" (even though it's the men who are sterile) or scheming to ensnare the one remaining virile man.
This book does broach the issue of eugenics: the one man who remains virile is described as unattractive, gaingly, and not a good seed for repopulation.
I think I would have enjoyed this book much more if such a dim view of women hadn't been such a fact. While men don't seem to mind not having children unless for political and social power (We must have them before another "race" gets the drop on us), the women are wailing at being "barren" (even though it's the men who are sterile) or scheming to ensnare the one remaining virile man.
This book does broach the issue of eugenics: the one man who remains virile is described as unattractive, gaingly, and not a good seed for repopulation.
September 27, 2023
Mislim da je ova knjiga mnogo dublja nego što na prvi pogled deluje. Iako je napisana pre sedamdeset godina njena radnja bi se mogla smestiti i zamisliti i u našem dobu. U centru zbivanja je gospodin Adam, nespretan mladi čovek, koji je imao tu (ne)sreću da se u trenutku nuklearne katastrofe (koja za posledicu ima neplodnost svih muškaraca na planeti) nađe duboko pod zemljom, u rudniku olova. Kada se nakon nekog vremena sazna da je Mr Adam jedini muškarac na svetu koji je u stanju da ima decu, on postaje veoma tražena roba, tražena do te mere da žene ne biraju sredstva da ga se dočepaju, mediji ga prate u stopu, jure ga i fanatici koji smatraju da ljudska vrsta treba da izumre, te situacija izmiče kontroli, a sa promenom globalne situacije, menja se i on sam.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2025
I've always been interested the topic of what would happen to society if it came about that humans couldn't have babies anymore (Children of Men, The White Plague). This is a story of how every male on Earth became sterile after a nuclear/atomic accident, except for one man - Homer Adam.
But this book really isn't about how society would cope with such a thing. It focuses more on how the bureaucracy of the United States would deal with such a disaster. Not to spoil it, but the answer is "not well." It is a true satire in how the solution to this humongous problem that will end humanity is stymied mostly by committees, in-fighting, and establishing proper procedures. In short, nothing really gets done when a whole government is in charge of getting stuff done.
But this book really isn't about how society would cope with such a thing. It focuses more on how the bureaucracy of the United States would deal with such a disaster. Not to spoil it, but the answer is "not well." It is a true satire in how the solution to this humongous problem that will end humanity is stymied mostly by committees, in-fighting, and establishing proper procedures. In short, nothing really gets done when a whole government is in charge of getting stuff done.
April 29, 2018
The cover describes Mr. Adam as "the lost classic from the dawn of the atomic age." Published in 1946, this book is remarkable.
An explosion leaves every man on earth sterile - with one notable exception, Mr. Homer Adam. What follows is a tale of bureaucracy, mis-management, appropriation of rights, and lunacy on behalf of some characters.
Pat Frank does an incredible job painting a picture of characters with very real feelings, beliefs and desires that holds true in 2018. It begs the question, when do the rights of the citizen give way to the needs of society?
This book engaged me until the very end, where the author delivered a couple of additional surprises for his readers.
An explosion leaves every man on earth sterile - with one notable exception, Mr. Homer Adam. What follows is a tale of bureaucracy, mis-management, appropriation of rights, and lunacy on behalf of some characters.
Pat Frank does an incredible job painting a picture of characters with very real feelings, beliefs and desires that holds true in 2018. It begs the question, when do the rights of the citizen give way to the needs of society?
This book engaged me until the very end, where the author delivered a couple of additional surprises for his readers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2019
This is a different type of book for me to read, but it sounded interesting so I gave it a try. The book was interesting mostly because it gave an insight into the time period in which it was written (1946), when atomic bombs and radiation were a great concern for people. It's discovered that there is only one man left on the planet that is still able to have children. The story goes into how the government, the man and the rest of the world handle this. The book was okay, but not very much really happened in it or even to the characters in the book. I think it really just was not my cup of tea.
February 15, 2022
This book is cool because it was originally written in the 40’s. It’s sci-fi in that the atomic bomb testing in Mississippi backfired, resulting in the destruction the state and (not that anyone notices until 9 months later when people stop having babies) the sterilization of every male on the planet. However, one man (a gawky and tall, lanky ginger) is discovered to have been underground at the time the bomb went off, and so the government has to decide what to do with him.
I really liked this book because it made you think about the morality of a situation like this, and when to weigh the needs of the many against the needs of the few.
I really liked this book because it made you think about the morality of a situation like this, and when to weigh the needs of the many against the needs of the few.
March 25, 2024
I was surprised at how funny a book about the mass sterilization of men could be. Having read "Alas Babylon" not too long ago, I was interested in what other books Pat Frank had written. This was nothing like "Alas Babylon" beyond the fact that it was written by someone who knows how to put together a good story. I loved that the whole book centered around fertility and sex and yet would be given a "G" rating (that is, if books were rated). That was part of the humor (at least to me). It was almost puritanical. I also loved the ending. Altogether a very satisfying read.
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