"Left Behind" The Series

The Left Behind series is a set of sixteen books by authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins that depicts the world in the middle of the Christian apocalypse. In the series, the Rapture occurs and the remaining people on earth try desperately to figure out what to do. A Romanian by the name of Nicolae Jetty Carpathia gains political power, and is eventually discovered to be the Antichrist. Meanwhile, a small group of people who call themselves the Tribulation Force try to gather people and prepare for Christ's return and second judgement.

The books were wildly popular. They garnered the number one positions on the New York Times Bestsellers, USA Today Bestsellers, and Publishers Weekly Bestsellers. It's an interesting comment on our society that the NY Times list didn't include Protestant bookstore sales and yet the books remained topsellers. Even when people don't prescribe to a particular religion, they're hungry for anything labeled "apocalyptic."