Wolf and Iron by Gordon R. Dickson.
Cradle of Saturn & The Anguished Dawn by James P. Hogan. The first is really a description of how Earth became PA and the second is the aftermath. A great story. He also presents an interesting view of the forming of the Solar System and early organzed religion that is absolutely compelling.
I’ll also second Lucifer’s Hammer
Another not exactly this genre but close story is Deathday and Earthrise by William Dietz. Similar to Footfall but with more of an Idependence Day meets Battlefield Earth feel, Deathday starts with the systematic destruction of all major cities on Earth and the eventual enslavement of the remaining populace. Earthrise chronicles the partial recovery and the taking back of what’s left. It’s also heavy handed on race relations but in all honestly I think he got that right as well.
I don’t think that series that xtisme was talking about is Deathlands. I’ve read quite a few books in that series, and none of them match what he describes. Deathlands is an interesting series for about the first 10 books or so. After that it gets very formulaic and I lost interest.
Battlefield Earth is a lot of fun, and one of my favorite books to read. Just don’t take it too seriously, and if you’ve seen that abomination that was the movie, just pretend that it had nothing to do with the book…which in fact, it didn’t.
Nope…I found the first book last night as it was driving me crazy not remembering the title…had to dig through like 6 boxes of old books that no longer rate even being in my private libraries boxes but are relagated to the shed. Its Out of the Ashes (and the other books have Ashes in their titles). I only read the first maybe 5 or 6…appearently there are like 30 of them (according to the link). They were decent light reading, especially if one has a libertarian bent. 
-XT
I’m taking a “future fiction” class that starts mid-July, and we are reading:
The Parable of Talents by Octavia E. Butler
Virtual Light by William Gibson
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Dawn, Adulthood Rights and Imago by Octavia E. Butler (the single-volume version is Lilith’s Brood)
The optional texts are:
*
Last and First Men* and Star Marker by Olaf Stapledon
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (Parable of Talents is the sequel to this book)
Can’t say much about them since I haven’t read them yet. Maybe others can comment. I’d be interested in hearing.
Emergence by David R. Palmer.
Is your class sponsored by Octavia E. Butler? 
She’s great, but there’s a whoooole lot of other future fiction writers out there - most sci-fi, as a matter of fact. Virtual Light is a good book; Ursula K. Le Guin is a very important sci-fi author and I can see why she would be included, but I’ve always found her a heavy slog.
I second this one. Some fun interactions, and lessons in How To Deal With Rhinos.
The professor seems the-good-kind of quirky… maybe he is secretly smitten with her! Glad you approve of the others.
I’m very fond of This is the way the world ends by James Morrow. One of the most haunting and depressing books I’ve read.
silenus- Thanks for the tip. I went to my bookstore and picked up both Lucifer’s Hammer and Footfall today. Just started LH and am only a couple chapters in. Starting slow but I understand the need for character development.
Thank you again.
De nada.
Take N & P’s politics with a grain of salt. They get a bit…obvious there towards the end, but it doesn’t hurt the book much.
Footfall is a lot more fun if you know the not-too-thinly-veiled authors they used for their “Crisis Team.” If you can’t figure them out when you get there, just post.
For depressing, nothing beats On The Beach by Neville Shute. Total drag from beginning to end.
First, a nit: That’s Star Maker. Call it a typo.
Meanwhile, Last and First Men is one of the greats. IIRC, from apes up to now is the first chapter, and that pace continues. Stapledon originates (and exhaustively covers in a few pages) ideas that later writers have built careers on. That book alone is a guide to half of SF.
Have fun with the course.
Thanks for the nit. I’m looking forward to this class. Funny really… aliens give me nightmares!
I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few of the books mentioned. But the first that came to my mind was The Rift by Walter Jon Williams. Almost too realistic.
Character development? From Niven and Pournelle? Don’t hold your breath. Keep reading it, though - it’s got a good plot.
I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but The Pleasures of a Futuroscope by Lord Dunsany in on my to-read shelf. I suspect it’ll be pretty minor Dunsany, but may worth checking out nonetheless.
On another note, Unhappy Far-Off Things is WWI propaganda material from Dunsany. It’s also minor but interesting.
I’ve long been partial to The Amtrak Wars by Patrick Tilley. More so when I was younger, but I’ll still dip back into them from time to time if I need something not quite so heavy to read.
If you want to get into the “classics” then The Chrysalids would fit into the category too, though it’s a bit heavy-handed on the politics at times.