A Canticle for Leibowitz
Miller's 1959 classic examines the distant future at three distinct points: maybe half a dozen centuries after a nuclear war destroyed much of civilization (in the 1960s), and life has returned to fairly the sparse and primitive; in 3174 AD when kingdoms have gathered considerable power and are warring conventionally; and in 3781 AD when robots, atomic bombs, and rocket power have returned. The unifying factor (and location) of the story is a small deser...
