Books > History > World history
|
Buy Now
A Brief History of the End of the World (Paperback)
Loot Price: R131
Discovery Miles 1 310
|
|
A Brief History of the End of the World (Paperback)
Series: Brief History of
(sign in to rate)
Loot Price R131
Discovery Miles 1 310
Expected to ship within 12 - 19 working days
|
Most people's concept of the 'end of the world' comes from the book
of Revelation. Alternative apocalypses can be found in the
Zoroastrianism of ancient Persia, in ancient Hindu scriptures and
Norse myths. Today, there are an estimated 25 million Christian
fundamentalists in the US who believe it will come with the
'Rapture'; others point to an ecological catastrophe, the AIDS
pandemic or nuclear and biological warfare. What happens when, in
the grip of apocalyptic prophesy, individuals and groups see
themselves as the 'elect' and above conventional mores? As with the
Ranters of the English Civil War, it can lead to comedy. But it can
also lead to sinister extremism - the Nazis recast it as the Third
Reich; latter-day doomsday cults such as the Waco Branch Davidians
believed that they too were divinely elected - and could kill in
the name of the coming apocalypse. The world today is in the grip
of an apocalyptic struggle between the neo-Conservatives in America
and a supposed global network of Islamic fundamentalists. For Bush,
the war is a 'crusade', for Osama Bin Laden it is a jihad; for
both, it is a struggle against absolute evil. From its Biblical
beginnings to suicide bombers, via the Vikings, the French
Revolution, the Pilgrim Fathers, Hitler's Apocalyptic rhetoric,
asteroids and Hollywood, Pearson shows that as long as human beings
seek to make sense of the world in which they live, endings will
continue to have a future.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
You might also like..
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.