Which popular novel and its dramatic adaptation about a nuclear war begun when a Sidewinder missile hits the wrong target predated by a few years the somewhat similar novel, "Fail-Safe"?

star_gazer

"Red Alert" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Alert_(novel) Aug 19 10, 4:36 AM

star_gazer

Red Alert is a 1958 novel by Peter George about nuclear war. The book was the basis for Stanley Kubrick's film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Kubrick's film differs significantly from the novel in that it is a comedy. Originally published in the UK as Two Hours to Doom – with George using the pseudonym "Peter Bryant" – the novel deals with the apocalyptic threat of nuclear war and the almost absurd ease with which it can be triggered. A genre of such topical fiction sprang up in the late 1950s – led by Nevil Shute's On the Beach – of which Red Alert was among the earliest examples. Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler's later bestseller Fail-Safe so closely resembled Red Alert in its premise that George sued on the charge of plagiarism, resulting in an out-of-court settlement. Both novels would inspire very different films that would both be released in 1964 by the same studio (Columbia Pictures). Aug 19 10, 4:40 AM

queproblema

Hmmm, if the movie had been made earlier that would be a better answer that the one I have in mind. Thanks for the red alert! Alas, I could babble on and on about the other.... Aug 19 10, 8:29 PM