Damian Thompson highly evocative, brilliant and comprehensive account of apocalyptic belief was a phenomenal critical success upon hardback publication. It brings together the massacre at Waco, the Solar Temple suicides, the Japanese subway gas attack, UFOs, angelic visitors and other apparently unrelated phenomena and places them in the context of the dawning of a new world at the time of the millennium. This is the revised, updated edition in which Damian Thompson tackles subjects such as the millennium dome and the millennium bug; rejacketed by Vintage for the lead-up to the year 2, 000. (19981215)
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The end of yet another millennium is fast approaching, and all kinds of squirrelly people are coming out of the woodwork. Members of Aum Shinrikyo set off poisoned gas in Tokyo subways while members of Marshall Applewhite's Heaven's Gate bid farewell to this world via lethal pudding, headed for that great mother ship in the sky. Meanwhile, the whole world fearfully anticipates 2000--the year when computers everywhere will trigger mass confusion over the double zero and set us all back a century. Lest you think that our generation is alone in its end-of- the-millennium craziness, Damian Thompson has written a history of millenarianism through the ages, The End of Time.
Technically speaking, the millennium refers to Christ's Second Coming and his thousand-year reign on earth; however, long before Christianity, various people in various corners of the earth have predicted the end of the world--everyone from the ancient Mesopotamians and Persians right up through the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. Thompson provides an engrossing survey of four millenarian movements, taking a more in-depth look at the end of the 20th century, a time in which fundamentalism and New Age theology are simultaneously on the rise as people scramble for meaning in these fast-changing times. What better way to prepare for the end of yet another millennium than by reading The End of Time? --Amazon.com
From the Back Cover
On the eve of the year 2000 the world is experiencing a disturbing resurgence of apocalyptic belief. From Surbiton to Seoul, millions of evangelical Christians are waiting for Armageddon. Apparitions of the Virgin Mary are prophesying the end of an era. New Agers are experiencing visions of 'earth changes' in which whole continents are swallowed up by the ocean. This fully updated edition of Damian Thompson' s highly acclaimed book ranges from Doomsday cults to the Millenium Dome, from the mysterious Terrors of the Year 1000 to the growing panic over the Y2K computer crisis.
If you only read one book about the millenium, this should be it.
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The measurement of time is inextricably bound up with belief in the supernatural. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The measurement of time is inextricably bound up with belief in the supernatural. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By D. Priest
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The End of the World has moved on a bit after this splendid book. Damien produced this view of apocalyptic movements as the world faced 2000AD. The End in 2012 has also passed into history. Nevertheless, this book has a vital place in the history of the prophesies of end of all things.
Format:Paperback
Thompson's built a career on saying we've never been more gullible. He's wrong - Nostradamus has always been around. Uri Geller? Erich von Daniken? And it's only when they die that the rumour mill can really get going (Christianity, Islam, Rastafarianism). The chapter on Korea's good (did you know all those red neon crosses were runway lights to guide in the airborne Christ the King?) but Michael Shermer and the guys at Skeptic are the ones to follow, also its English equivalent THE Skeptic
By J. Marshall
Format:Paperback
This is a book I keep coming back to reread. It also pointed me towards the works of Norman Cohn for which I am very greatful
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Milliennian subject matter not past use-by date yet.
Although there are a couple of gaps in the coverage of apocalpyse cults, ie the Manson Family, and you need a decent grasp of history and religion to to make sense of it, this is... Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2000
1.0 out of 5 stars
A failure to understand the minds of people
Whilst agreeing with the author's stance regarding the strange ideas that some people expound - this is a stilted book. Read more
Published on 22 July 1999
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