Apocalypse 2012
An optimist investigates the end of civilization
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- €5.99
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- €5.99
Publisher Description
Is the world really coming to an end in 2012? The answer frighteningly is ‘maybe’, according to the Bible, the I Ching, the Mayans, meteorologists and vulcanologists. Apocalypse 2012 is cheerful sceptic Laurence E Joseph’s investigation into the 2012 Doomsday phenomenon.
Journalist and science writer Laurence E Joseph is our incisive and witty guide unravelling the religious, astrological and mystical prophecies behind the potentially earth-shattering events of 2012. And at the core of this book is Joseph's investigation into the growing number of scientific researchers trying to figure out why conditions around our planet are becoming so bizarre.
His adventures include:
Hooking up with the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement whose cheerful motto 'Live Long and Die Out' is now available as a tattoo.Meeting the scientists who are trying to figure out why the present state of the sun is so worrisome – is it just going through a phase or is something major going on?Visiting Yellowstone National Park to see whether the seething supervolcano could soon stop civilisation dead in its tracks.Exploring the possibility of a terrorist attack that could plunge the whole Northern Hemisphere into the equivalent of a nuclear winter.
So, if 2012 really is going to be a year of unprecedented catastrophe, what can we do to increase our odds of surviving it? Should we head for the Kentucky hills or hightail it to Western Africa, where the Australian Doomsday 2012 enthusiast is staking his claim, or perhaps we'd be better blasting off for solar systems unknown?
With its mixture of hard science, investigative reportage and cast of colourful characters, Apocaplyse 2012 is Fast Food Nation for the terminally paranoid.
About the author
Lawrence E. Joseph is a journalist and author who has written extensively on science, nature, politics and business. As an independent journalist, Joseph has written for a host of publications, including The New York Times and Salon. Currently, Joseph is Chairman of the Board of Aerospace Consulting Corporation, headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a plasma physics research corporation, which, among other things, oversees the production of every nuclear warhead in the United States.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In New Age circles, the idea that some sort of world-spanning cataclysmic event will take place in December 2012 has been gaining traction for years, thanks largely to the calculations of ancient Mayan astronomers who pegged that moment as the end of a cycle of eons. Joseph uses that prophecy as a starting point, but claims that his interest lies in more substantial scientific threats to the planet including cracks in Earth's magnetic field, the eruption of supervolcanoes and flareups of sunspot radiation. On the other hand, he also gives credence to planetary alignments and The Bible Code before veering into a rant about how the real problem is Christian fundamentalists who want to manipulate the Middle East into Armageddon. When he sticks to science journalism, Joseph is a lively tour guide, introducing readers to Mayan shamans and Russian scientists with equal aplomb. But when he encourages readers to start praying they survive the coming apocalypse, he comes off as exactly the sort of crackpot he claims to eschew. Still, there's less kookery than in other 2012 books, making Joseph a reasonably straightforward guide to the theory.
