Non-Fiction Book Reviews

Book Review: The Last Myth

By Sandy Amazeen May 15, 2012, 2:55 GMT

During the first dozen years of the twenty-first century--from Y2K through 2012--apocalyptic anticipation in America has leapt from the margins of society and into the mainstream. Today, nearly 60 percent of Americans believe that the events foretold in the book of Revelation will come true. But it\'s not just the Christian Right that is obsessed with the end of the world; secular readers hungry for catastrophe have propelled fiction and ...more

From the upcoming end of the Mayan calendar and supposed demise of the world as we know it to the Book of Isaiah, this fascinating book examines American’s love affair with apocalypse scenarios. America has gone from a “can do” nation that greeted hardship by rolling up its shirtsleeves and tightening its belt to a country that whines about the end of the world with every grim news broadcast. Gross and Gills present persuasive arguments for the roles Judeo-Christianity, the atomic age and fast growing technology plays in our obsession with an apocalyptic end of days. They show how our current unsustainable lifestyle is not without consequences as the worldwide economic crisis, oil cartel and global warming demonstrate but rather then letting this overwhelm us; we can take the lessons and begin meaningful change.

This excellently researched book combines religious dogma, mythology, anthropology, history and more into a rational look at how Christian Americans became enamored with the apocalypse. It points out the fallacy in preparing for asteroids or supervolcanoes while ignoring obvious signs of a potential national collapse brought about by our own hubris. Despite the grim subject, this interesting book is not depressing as much as it is eye opening, too bad we can’t make every politician read it.