I read this in the mid-80s and had mushroom cloud nightmares.

"Warday: And the Journey Onward" (Hardcover)
by Whitley Strieber (Author), James Kunetka

http://www.amazon.com/Warday-Journey-Onw...3805&sr=1-2

"The Stand" by Stephen King is my all-time fave of this genre. I thought the mini-series was well done, too. Sci-Fi Channel plays it occasionally. After the Lincoln Tunnel scene I was delighted to wake up the next morning in a noisy city crowded with living people.

"Alas Babylon" is still chilling.

I'm not a fan of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" but it did win a Pulitzer and made Oprah's Book Club. That book convinced me that there are disasters you don't want to survive.

There are several genre fan lists on amazon.com Here's one you may want to look at. It reminded me of "On the Beach" which was made into a legendary film starring Gregory Peck:

http://www.amazon.com/Post-Apolcalyptic-...VX1WM6XE6CT4036