# Good New Post-Apocalyptic Book - Rise Again **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531 "2011-01-30T18:46:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/21 "2011-01-31T23:49:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Another classic is [_Alas, Babylon_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alas,_Babylon) by Pat Frank. I think that’s one of the classics that I keep missing - it is now wishlisted as well. I think I watched the movie “On the Beach” but have not read the book. I should be able to get that one from the library. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/22 "2011-02-01T01:44:29Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I think that’s one of the classics that I keep missing - it is now wishlisted as well. _Alas, Babylon_ is a good book as long as you keep in mind it was written in 1959. It posits a fairly limited nuclear war, which was realistic at the time. And it was set in 1959 Florida which means there are some passages about race that are dated. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/23 "2011-02-01T03:41:23Z")
Well as long as we’re compiling a list, _No Blade of Grass_ (a/k/a _The Death of Grass_) is good but hard to find. Premise is that all the world’s grasses, including all cereal crops, are destroyed by disease. Starvation and potato-eating ensue. _The Pest House_ by Jim Crace is worth a read. _Day of the Triffids_ - David Wyndham. A really weird post-apocalyptic premise, but a gripping read nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/24 "2011-02-01T03:45:11Z")
Some earlier Dope threads on PA fiction: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=502143](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=502143) > **[Recommend a "realistic" post-apocalyptic story without magic, cyborgs or...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=567182)** > > Chapter 1: The End. Chapter 2: Cue alien cyborg zombies! Grr. I do so love my rebirth-of-the-world stories, but I’m tired of the same old ones that overcrawl with zombies, have us fighting with endless Terminator clones, or that shift the plot... ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/25 "2011-02-01T04:09:56Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > _Day of the Triffids_ - David Wyndham. A really weird post-apocalyptic premise, but a gripping read nonetheless. I think you mean John Wyndham. Also, another novel of his - _The Chrysalids_ - is a great post-apocalyptic story, but set much farther in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/26 "2011-02-01T04:26:31Z")
> [@Waenara](#): > > I think you mean John Wyndham. Yeah, thanks. And speaking of my screw-ups, it’s _Pesthouse_ (one word). ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/27 "2011-02-01T08:58:59Z")
Not exactly a book, but there’s an awesome awesome thread over on [ZS](http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=35300) about a zombie apocalypse. It’s written in journal format as a stay-at-home mom deals with the disaster. Very engaging, and the comments are hilarious. My wishlist has gotten large because of this thread too. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyMarine2092](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@JerseyMarine2092](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyMarine2092)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/28 "2011-02-01T14:49:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _Alas, Babylon_ is a good book as long as you keep in mind it was written in 1959. It posits a fairly limited nuclear war, which was realistic at the time. And it was set in 1959 Florida which means there are some passages about race that are dated. I read it as an alternate history, I find that it helps. But it’s certainly one of my favorite books. It’s modern equivilent in _One Second After_ by William Forstchen ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/29 "2011-02-01T15:43:40Z")
> [@JerseyMarine2092](#): > > I read it as an alternate history, I find that it helps. But it’s certainly one of my favorite books. It’s modern equivilent in _One Second After_ by William Forstchen But **One Second After** really sucked! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/30 "2011-02-02T00:12:03Z")
I thought of another favourite zombie book (I think I got the recommendation here originally) - [World War Z](http://www.amazon.ca/World-War-Oral-History-Zombie/dp/0307346617/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296605194&sr=8-1). I didn’t think I’d like the format originally - it’s told as a series of almost journal entries or articles, but it made a lasting impression on me and I ended up enthralled by the book. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/31 "2011-05-26T01:59:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Another classic is [_Alas, Babylon_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alas,_Babylon) by Pat Frank. And although it was written at the end of the 1950’s the nuclear war wasn’t started as a USA vs. USSR thing. It was also the first of the genre that I remember where someone died simply because there was no modern technology. Because there was no way to refrigerate insulin one minor character died. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/32 "2011-05-26T02:48:55Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Good question - my first response is “The Stand” by Stephen King, but “Earth Abides” by George R. Stewart is also very good. > > ETA: And I’m going looking for “Feed” now. 🙂 Amazingly only $3 on Kindle right now! > **[Amazon.com: Feed (Newsflesh Book 1) eBook : Grant, Mira: Kindle Store](https://www.amazon.com/Feed-Newsflesh-Book-Mira-Grant-ebook/dp/B003GFIVSE)** > > Feed (Newsflesh Book 1) - Kindle edition by Grant, Mira. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Feed (Newsflesh Book 1). ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531/33 "2011-05-26T05:29:14Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > But **One Second After** really sucked! I enjoyed [Lights Out](http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-David-Crawford/dp/0615427359/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306387684&sr=1-1) better for a post-emp world. It seems more realistic no roving bands of cannibals. It isn’t the greatest piece of work ever written, but entertaining to read. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-new-post-apocalyptic-book-rise-again/569531.md?page=1)