A Canticle for Leibowitz

Centuries after a devastating global nuclear war, known as the "Flame Deluge," humanity has regressed to a new dark age, having destroyed most knowledge in a period called the "Simplification." In the American Southwest, a monastic order, the Albertian Order of Leibowitz, dedicates itself to preserving the scattered remnants of scientific and technological knowledge of the pre-Deluge era, founded by a Jewish scientist who became a Catholic monk. The novel is divided into three interconnected parts, spanning millennia, each depicting a different stage of humanity's struggle to rebuild civilization. From a novice discovering ancient blueprints to a scholar deciphering ancient texts, and finally to a world once again on the brink of nuclear annihilation, Miller explores the cyclical nature of human history, the enduring tension between faith and science, and the profound questions of knowledge, responsibility, and humanity's propensity for self-destruction.