David Brin

The year is 2013 and the future isn't what it used to be. There are no highways, no I-ways, no dreams of a better tomorrow-- only scattered bands of terrorized survivors in what was once called the United States. Into this apocalyptic wasteland comes an enigmatic drifter with a mule named Bill, a knack for the works of Shakespeare and something he has yet to discover: the power to inspire hope.