During the first dozen years of the twenty-first century, apocalyptic anticipation in America has leapt from the cultish to the mainstream. Today, nearly 60 percent of Americans believe that the events foretold in the book of Revelation will come true. But many secular readers also seem hungry for catastrophe and have propelled books about peak oil, global warming, and the end of civilization into bestsellers. How did we come to live in a culture obsessed by the belief that the end is near?
The Last Myth explains why apocalyptic beliefs are surging within the American mainstream today. Demonstrating that our expectation of the end of the world is a surprisingly recent development in human thought, the book reveals the profound influence of apocalyptic thinking on America's past, present, and future.
- ISBN10 1616145730
- ISBN13 9781616145736
- Publish Date 6 March 2012
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 13 June 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Prometheus Books
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 254
- Language English