This was written in 1959 at the heart of the nuclear age so of course some of the language (i.e. the use of negro is one thing that stands out) was a bit dated but, getting past all that, the underlying ideas were very relevant to many of today's problems. Maybe it was the fact that I read most of this book "snowed in" for two days but I thought the book conveyed well the sense of isolation that the characters, in their little pocket of Florida, felt after their loss of power, gas, coffee, etc. and especially after the loss of communication with the rest of the country and world after a full nuclear assault from the Russians. This book is on most top ten lists of post-apocalyptic books and it certainly, imo, deserves that honor.