What would you do, if you know that'll die within a year? And not just you, but all of humanity? Even though you know what is coming, Neville Shute is still able to capture the reader by this story. I also appreciated the explanations and the motives that he used to explain the development into WWIII. Slight deductions in rating because the book uses very traditional gender roles... it was written in 1957 and it shows.