End of the World, No Heroes

The post-apocalyptic adventure story, in the American imagination, at least, is a wish disguised as a fear. Feigning horror at the notion of civilization razed to its foundations, we can indulge in the fantasy of remaking it from the ground up. Finally, weâ??ll get it right because we Americans â?? despite not knowing about stuff like, say, Libya â?? abound in native common sense and gumption. And thatâ??s all we really need, right?