# Apocalyptic Literature **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-literature/175029 "2003-05-13T19:53:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-literature/175029/1 "2003-05-13T19:53:54Z")
Well I’ve done a search and found several threads on post-apocalyptic novels but none on this subject. A subgenre I have a particular interest in is novels or books depicting plausible scenarios for World War Three or the end of the world, with a particular emphasis on NATO/Warsaw Pact battles, but its all good 😃 Anyone have any recommendations? Here are some I have in my collection: Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy - Probably the best known of its type, excellent stuff and I’m not a particular Clancy fan. The Third World War by General John Hackett - (and its sequel “The Untold Story”) Arc Light by Eric L. Harry - Any book that _starts_ with Russia, China and America nuking each other is just going to be interesting. Domain by James Herbert - The first few chapters are chilling. Total War 2006 by Simon Pearson Ende: A Diary of the Third World War by Anton Andreas Guha - Found this hidden in the back of a second hand book shop. An English translation of the German original depicting the daily diary of a civilian caught in the central battleground of WW3, close to the Inner German Border. Very powerful stuff. Warday by Whitley Streiber and James Kunetka Resurrection Day by Brendan DuBois - The Cuban Missile Crisis turns hot. Silent Night by Cyril Joly - NATO loses. The Cold War: A Military History by David Millar The Claws of the Bear by Brian Moynahan Any recommendations? (don’t have to be Cold War scenarios and End of the World stuff is appreciated) Tanks 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-literature/175029/2 "2003-05-13T20:00:11Z")
The Chinese Ultimatum by Edward McGhee and Robin Moore 34 East by Alfred Coppel ---
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-literature/175029/3 "2003-05-14T00:02:52Z")
Frank Herbert (of Dune fame) wrote “The White Plague”. It’s apocalyptic, but without spoiling too much, lets say, no nukes but tiny little germs. Since this is the author of the Dune series, I must point out that it is not in his usual genre, ie - science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-literature/175029/4 "2003-05-14T00:23:28Z")
“A Scientific Romance” by Ronald Wright: post-apocalypse novel set in Britain, 2500 AD, amazing descriptions of London covered in jungle after global warming, narrator an archaeologist tracing the collapse of civilisation via plagues and civil war. ---
**Author:** ![Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-literature/175029/5 "2003-05-14T02:13:31Z")
“Earth Abides” by George R. Stewart - another plague story, but also one of the first ones I ever read. “Job: A Comedy of Justice” by Robert Heinlein - Not quite the complete end of the world, but still quite interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-literature/175029/6 "2003-05-14T02:23:19Z")
One that’s interesting (thought it can be difficult to find) is _Down to a Sunless Sea_ by David Graham. Basically, the U.S. has collapsed (several years prior to the events of the book) and a massive nuclear exchange takes place. The main character is a commercial airline pilot who is taking a full plane from New York to London when the exchange occurs. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-literature/175029/7 "2003-05-14T03:29:45Z")
Hunh. Here I was thinking you wanted a literary critical analysis of Daniel and I Enoch. Oh well.