NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • “A moving experience . . . a powerful cautionary tale.”—Whitley StrieberHe was a survivor—a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war. Fate touches him one chill winter’s day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a … uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery.
This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth. A timeless novel as urgently compelling as War Day or Alas, Babylon, David Brin’s The Postman is the dramatically moving saga of a man who rekindled the spirit of America through the power of a dream, from a modern master of science fiction.
“The Postman will keep you engrossed until you’ve finished the last page.”—Chicago Tribune
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Great book. Movie, not so much…..
I have always loved “The Postman”. Trust me, the book is a completely different animal than the movie, and magnitudes better. It’s pretty much the story of one man, one not looking to be a hero or symbol but just wanting to survive, manages to inspire a post-apocalyptic world.
Great book and a great movie
Many did not like the movie version and the idea of a postman as the hero misses the point in my opinion. It wasn’t the postman, but the idea of communication and community that helped society start to recover.
This was probably the original of several post apocalypse novels set in Oregon. As a resident of southern Oregon I can appreciate the accurate details in landscape and geography. Our current political climate indicates that the description of civil war brought on by the rise of a popular strong man is not beyond fiction.
This is a classic in the genre of an ordinary person becoming a hero through a sense of honor and duty. Well written .
You know what–kill me for a Philistine–I liked the movie better. The movie has long been one of my favorites, and–kill me again–I thought Kevin Costner was great in the role. I believe he struck just the right tone, unwilling leader but just couldn’t help himself. I also liked the fact that in the movie his character was never named, the …
Too predictable. I read it in the run-up to the film’s release and felt it was too dated, too formulaic, packed with every single bad post-apocalyptic idea. Kevin Costner did the best he could with the material, and the book was probably revolutionary when it was published, but it hasn’t aged well.
Ignore the lousy movie, enjoy the book
The defining apocalyptic novel.
Started great ended weak
The first half of this book was entertaining. I found myself absorbed in the post-apocalyptic America and the structure of what little society was left. There were several good plot lines that emerged, but they seemed to fizzle out before the end of the book, and not come to a satisfying conclusion at all. The latter half of the book seemed …