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Apocalypse Pretty Soon: Travels in End-Time America
A writer for The New York Times Magazine introduces readers to Americans whose far-from-the-mainstream religious or political beliefs lead them to expect an apocalypse, in an illustrated account by turns funny and frightening.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 5, 2023
A JOURNALISTIC SURVEY OF A WIDE VARIETY OF ‘APOCALYPTIC’ GROUPS
Author Alex Heard wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, “[I decided] to take my chances as a freelancer, concentrating … on the vast subject area that got me interested in journalism in the first place: weird people.” (Pg. 16) He continues, “I began a slow process of getting to know an assortment of millennial and utopian strivers---Christians, gloom-and-doomy New Agers, UFO worshippers, new-frontier libertarians, fringe scientists, right-wing radicals, immortality hopefuls… I would attempt to understand things from the believers’ perspective, always based on deep immersion in their canonical texts and first-hand reporting… I would try not to be overly harsh in my judgments… Meaning this isn’t hands-off anthropology. It’s journalism… And what did I learn? … the millennium isn’t all bad… My main interest… was in people who are managing to function peacefully with their ideas, as most millennialists do… If I had to identify one unifying theme about … contemporary millennialists, it would be this: they’re hopeful. Mainly they hope for change in a world that annoys them.” (Pg. 18-20)
He begins with “a California-based outfit called ‘Unarius---Science of Life.’ …In 1975, [Ruth Norman/‘Uriel’] purchased a building in El Cajon, California… There she nurtured a remarkably durable utopian group… to spread her bizarre but joyous message about mankind’s future, which she saw as one of imminent millennial salvation at the hands of ‘space brothers’ … In the mid-seventies she announced that sometime soon, thirty-three spaceships (representing thirty-two other worlds and Earth) would touch down … near El Cajon. Each would contain infinitely wise extraterrestrials who were coming to launch a New Age university that would usher in perpetual peace, wisdom, and harmony… These pronouncements and flubs made Ruth into something of a fringe-world superstar… As Queen Bee of Unarius, Ruth dressed the part, wearing gaudy gowns and tiaras assembled by loving Unarius students.” (Pg. 26-27)
One of the group was Stephan Yancoskie, who “was a favorite of Uriel’s and had risen high in the group… [He said] that he had served as Uriel’s boy toy and wardrobe designer… ‘I did her from top to bottom… When I first came, she looked something like a country singer down on her luck. Then I designed her dresses, he wigs, the whole thing. She loved what I could do for her.’” (Pg. 49)
Heard observes, “to me, the real surprise of the nineties was the fact that millions of ‘millennialists’ managed to do their thing without hurting themselves or anybody else. In my opinion, they were usually engaging in … elaborate self-therapy… about their fear of death in a modern world that, by and large, says death has no meaning… they were expressing a need to believe that the awful things that happen here on Earth are being watched by a higher power that has a redeeming purpose in mind.” (Pg. 78)
He meets Arthur Blessitt: “He received the call to walk the United States from coast to coast … dragging a 12-by-6 foot, 105-pound cross made of … wood. Blessitt went international in 1971… The stories sound insane, but I don’t think Blessitt was crazy at all. I think he was… burning brightly from within… [I] got a chance to meet him in late 1997… he had six [countries] left, all of them tough-to-crack places like North Korea, the Sudan, Iraq… The grim reality was that Blessitt really could get killed doing this.” (Pg. 95-96)
He says of Sun Bear, who “led a ‘Bear Tribe’ of New Age followers who tried to live according to the tread-lightly style he advocated in books… Bear was a controversial figure; he claimed to be a Chippewa Indian, but some Indians doubted his bloodline and dismissed him as a white
‘wannabe’ who ripped off their traditions. Still, many New Agers put great stock in the harrowing forecasts he received from an entity called Spirit.” (Pg. 109-110)
He reports, “when the [predicted catastrophic Earth] Changes don’t occur quite as dramatically as predicted, people will keep predicting them all the same…. Annie [Kirkwood] recalibrated the
Future by announcing that she had received an ‘update’ from [Jesus’ mother] Mary: the Earth Changes would be delayed by at least ten years….” (Pg. 140-141)
He tells of “an antigovernment zealot named Richard McLaren, who led a fire-breathing militia that rejected the authority of the U.S. government… McLaren ran a splinter faction of the Republic of Texas, an internally fractured statewide militia group that harbored doomed fantasies about reestablishing the national independence that the real Republic of Texas forfeited when it joined the Union in 1845.” (Pg. 143-144)
He explains, “Free Energy … is the modern label for what historically has been called ‘perpetual motion’ … the quest to invent a machine that somehow produces more energy than it takes to run it… The most fervent zealots are convinced that the scientific establishment is turning a blind eye to---or suppressing---knowledge about UFOs and free energy that would make much of that science now accepts as ‘truth’ look like a pathetic joke…” (Pg. 189-190) Later, he adds, “If the aliens love us so much, why don’t they just drop from the sky and fix our world? … This is where evil comes into play… that sees a dark force blocking our path to enlightenment…” (Pg. 194)
He attended meetings of the World Future Society, “that treated the convention’s dominant theme: utopian political theory about human governance… many WFS-style futurists were pushing for an updated … version of that old, hopeless concept born during the world wars: One-World Government.” (Pg. 231)
He recounts, “[Will] Block’s group is about a half-dozen whose entire business consist of selling anti-aging nostrums … and multisubstance wellness blends with names like Life Extension Mix and Super Radical Shield. Elsewhere, mass-market longevity books make dazzling promises that beckon readers to share the dream.” (Pg. 268)
He observes, “Cryonics has been a public laughing stock for decades, and it seems that every few years some scandal or pathetic episode pops up to remind journalists to poke fun at it… When you die, the blood flow to your brain is cut off, causing neurological damage. The cryo-buffs would like to come up with a drug sop that would be administered to a dead ‘patient,’ preserving the bran as fully as possible.” (Pg. 283-284)
He turns to Robert Monroe, who “was The Man… who had supposedly brought rigor and rationality to OBE [Out-od]Body] research… Monroe has star power in part because he didn’t fit the fringe-person stereotype---he impressed observers as a nuts-and-bolts guy…‘Journeys Out of the Body’ was [written] based on Monroe’s experiences … [and] is written in a no-nonsense prose monotone that conveys Monroe’s utter seriousness about his research.” (Pg. 305, 316)
Heard’s approach to such persons and groups is reasonably objective, usually refraining from simply making fun of them. This book will interest persons studying such groups and persons.
Author Alex Heard wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, “[I decided] to take my chances as a freelancer, concentrating … on the vast subject area that got me interested in journalism in the first place: weird people.” (Pg. 16) He continues, “I began a slow process of getting to know an assortment of millennial and utopian strivers---Christians, gloom-and-doomy New Agers, UFO worshippers, new-frontier libertarians, fringe scientists, right-wing radicals, immortality hopefuls… I would attempt to understand things from the believers’ perspective, always based on deep immersion in their canonical texts and first-hand reporting… I would try not to be overly harsh in my judgments… Meaning this isn’t hands-off anthropology. It’s journalism… And what did I learn? … the millennium isn’t all bad… My main interest… was in people who are managing to function peacefully with their ideas, as most millennialists do… If I had to identify one unifying theme about … contemporary millennialists, it would be this: they’re hopeful. Mainly they hope for change in a world that annoys them.” (Pg. 18-20)
He begins with “a California-based outfit called ‘Unarius---Science of Life.’ …In 1975, [Ruth Norman/‘Uriel’] purchased a building in El Cajon, California… There she nurtured a remarkably durable utopian group… to spread her bizarre but joyous message about mankind’s future, which she saw as one of imminent millennial salvation at the hands of ‘space brothers’ … In the mid-seventies she announced that sometime soon, thirty-three spaceships (representing thirty-two other worlds and Earth) would touch down … near El Cajon. Each would contain infinitely wise extraterrestrials who were coming to launch a New Age university that would usher in perpetual peace, wisdom, and harmony… These pronouncements and flubs made Ruth into something of a fringe-world superstar… As Queen Bee of Unarius, Ruth dressed the part, wearing gaudy gowns and tiaras assembled by loving Unarius students.” (Pg. 26-27)
One of the group was Stephan Yancoskie, who “was a favorite of Uriel’s and had risen high in the group… [He said] that he had served as Uriel’s boy toy and wardrobe designer… ‘I did her from top to bottom… When I first came, she looked something like a country singer down on her luck. Then I designed her dresses, he wigs, the whole thing. She loved what I could do for her.’” (Pg. 49)
Heard observes, “to me, the real surprise of the nineties was the fact that millions of ‘millennialists’ managed to do their thing without hurting themselves or anybody else. In my opinion, they were usually engaging in … elaborate self-therapy… about their fear of death in a modern world that, by and large, says death has no meaning… they were expressing a need to believe that the awful things that happen here on Earth are being watched by a higher power that has a redeeming purpose in mind.” (Pg. 78)
He meets Arthur Blessitt: “He received the call to walk the United States from coast to coast … dragging a 12-by-6 foot, 105-pound cross made of … wood. Blessitt went international in 1971… The stories sound insane, but I don’t think Blessitt was crazy at all. I think he was… burning brightly from within… [I] got a chance to meet him in late 1997… he had six [countries] left, all of them tough-to-crack places like North Korea, the Sudan, Iraq… The grim reality was that Blessitt really could get killed doing this.” (Pg. 95-96)
He says of Sun Bear, who “led a ‘Bear Tribe’ of New Age followers who tried to live according to the tread-lightly style he advocated in books… Bear was a controversial figure; he claimed to be a Chippewa Indian, but some Indians doubted his bloodline and dismissed him as a white
‘wannabe’ who ripped off their traditions. Still, many New Agers put great stock in the harrowing forecasts he received from an entity called Spirit.” (Pg. 109-110)
He reports, “when the [predicted catastrophic Earth] Changes don’t occur quite as dramatically as predicted, people will keep predicting them all the same…. Annie [Kirkwood] recalibrated the
Future by announcing that she had received an ‘update’ from [Jesus’ mother] Mary: the Earth Changes would be delayed by at least ten years….” (Pg. 140-141)
He tells of “an antigovernment zealot named Richard McLaren, who led a fire-breathing militia that rejected the authority of the U.S. government… McLaren ran a splinter faction of the Republic of Texas, an internally fractured statewide militia group that harbored doomed fantasies about reestablishing the national independence that the real Republic of Texas forfeited when it joined the Union in 1845.” (Pg. 143-144)
He explains, “Free Energy … is the modern label for what historically has been called ‘perpetual motion’ … the quest to invent a machine that somehow produces more energy than it takes to run it… The most fervent zealots are convinced that the scientific establishment is turning a blind eye to---or suppressing---knowledge about UFOs and free energy that would make much of that science now accepts as ‘truth’ look like a pathetic joke…” (Pg. 189-190) Later, he adds, “If the aliens love us so much, why don’t they just drop from the sky and fix our world? … This is where evil comes into play… that sees a dark force blocking our path to enlightenment…” (Pg. 194)
He attended meetings of the World Future Society, “that treated the convention’s dominant theme: utopian political theory about human governance… many WFS-style futurists were pushing for an updated … version of that old, hopeless concept born during the world wars: One-World Government.” (Pg. 231)
He recounts, “[Will] Block’s group is about a half-dozen whose entire business consist of selling anti-aging nostrums … and multisubstance wellness blends with names like Life Extension Mix and Super Radical Shield. Elsewhere, mass-market longevity books make dazzling promises that beckon readers to share the dream.” (Pg. 268)
He observes, “Cryonics has been a public laughing stock for decades, and it seems that every few years some scandal or pathetic episode pops up to remind journalists to poke fun at it… When you die, the blood flow to your brain is cut off, causing neurological damage. The cryo-buffs would like to come up with a drug sop that would be administered to a dead ‘patient,’ preserving the bran as fully as possible.” (Pg. 283-284)
He turns to Robert Monroe, who “was The Man… who had supposedly brought rigor and rationality to OBE [Out-od]Body] research… Monroe has star power in part because he didn’t fit the fringe-person stereotype---he impressed observers as a nuts-and-bolts guy…‘Journeys Out of the Body’ was [written] based on Monroe’s experiences … [and] is written in a no-nonsense prose monotone that conveys Monroe’s utter seriousness about his research.” (Pg. 305, 316)
Heard’s approach to such persons and groups is reasonably objective, usually refraining from simply making fun of them. This book will interest persons studying such groups and persons.
April 27, 2011
I quit about halfway through.
I don't know why I keep reading quasi-sociological books written by journalists. They have this 8th grade "I am so cool" way of writing that annoys me to no end, and nothing ends up sounding very factually accurate. That being said, cults are interesting, and the author of this book went out of his way to present them as normal, if a bit misguided, and he was pretty self-effacing about how much he annoyed some of the cultists with his questions. I might have finished this book if I'd read it twelve years ago, since many of the groups mentioned had prophecies hinging on the year 2000. Maybe I'd enjoy a follow-up, but I did my own research on a few of the cults and found that they are alive and well, despite their false prophecies. What a shock. People are idiots. I don't care.
I don't know why I keep reading quasi-sociological books written by journalists. They have this 8th grade "I am so cool" way of writing that annoys me to no end, and nothing ends up sounding very factually accurate. That being said, cults are interesting, and the author of this book went out of his way to present them as normal, if a bit misguided, and he was pretty self-effacing about how much he annoyed some of the cultists with his questions. I might have finished this book if I'd read it twelve years ago, since many of the groups mentioned had prophecies hinging on the year 2000. Maybe I'd enjoy a follow-up, but I did my own research on a few of the cults and found that they are alive and well, despite their false prophecies. What a shock. People are idiots. I don't care.
September 10, 2015
The author travels to meet with fringe people or groups who are expecting a massive change in the future. While written just before the year 2000, it's just as relevant today. The author is effective at explaining their perspectives with a critical eye without getting too snarky towards them. Each chapter focuses on a different concept:
1. Unarius, a non-suicidal Heaven's Gate type of cult
2. Biblical believers waiting for the rapture.
3. People expecting massive environment changes
4. Right-wing militias
5. UFO personality Dr. Steven Geer
6. People trying to setup their own sovereign nation.
7. Cryogenics and immortality seekers
8. New Age out of body experiencers
A great insight into some of the more off the wall subcultures.
1. Unarius, a non-suicidal Heaven's Gate type of cult
2. Biblical believers waiting for the rapture.
3. People expecting massive environment changes
4. Right-wing militias
5. UFO personality Dr. Steven Geer
6. People trying to setup their own sovereign nation.
7. Cryogenics and immortality seekers
8. New Age out of body experiencers
A great insight into some of the more off the wall subcultures.
July 7, 2014
It's hard to classify this book. It's one man's trip around America to meet the kinds of folks whose lives revolve around the end of the world. They plan for it, talk about it, are totally obsessed by it - and in some cases want to bring it about.
I found this a pretty useful book when I was researching Apocalypse Later: A guide to the end of the world by Nice Mr Death. Even though the book had been researched written well ahead of the millennium, well over a decade on it was still just as relevant. The same people and organisations are out there. But guess what? It's been like that since religions began. There's something deep in the psychology of some human beings which has them set not just to self-destruct, but to wish it on all of us. And the Christians are amongst the worst in historical terms - though certain branches of Islam are making themselves felt in this area.
And, of course, those of us who aren't End-Times believers are fascinated in the End-Times believers, which probably makes us almost as bad.
I found this a pretty useful book when I was researching Apocalypse Later: A guide to the end of the world by Nice Mr Death. Even though the book had been researched written well ahead of the millennium, well over a decade on it was still just as relevant. The same people and organisations are out there. But guess what? It's been like that since religions began. There's something deep in the psychology of some human beings which has them set not just to self-destruct, but to wish it on all of us. And the Christians are amongst the worst in historical terms - though certain branches of Islam are making themselves felt in this area.
And, of course, those of us who aren't End-Times believers are fascinated in the End-Times believers, which probably makes us almost as bad.
December 20, 2009
Carol gave this to me for my birthday, though why she would want to encourage me after listening to my rants for nearly thirty years is beyond me.
It is a lively tour of the various flavors of the milennialist crowd - including one of our longtime faves, Unarius (Carol has an original tape of theirs somewhere where Ruth Norman wears a dress made of electic lights). Author describes Ruth as someone with "the sensibilities of a drag queen crossed with the joie de vivre of a frisbee chasing Irish Setter."
Alex Heard does not spare himself, as he goes about whining and pestering people for a 'chance of pod'. The book has its serious aspects as well, discussing the dangerous militia-type folks, and the fraudsters of health-quackery and UFO-ology.
It is a lively tour of the various flavors of the milennialist crowd - including one of our longtime faves, Unarius (Carol has an original tape of theirs somewhere where Ruth Norman wears a dress made of electic lights). Author describes Ruth as someone with "the sensibilities of a drag queen crossed with the joie de vivre of a frisbee chasing Irish Setter."
Alex Heard does not spare himself, as he goes about whining and pestering people for a 'chance of pod'. The book has its serious aspects as well, discussing the dangerous militia-type folks, and the fraudsters of health-quackery and UFO-ology.
February 17, 2016
This random smattering of late millenial cults and belief systems is satisfying but not exactly rigorous or comprehensive. The author is very present in the writing and it is what it is, and I'm not complaining. It's a fun, quick read, and there's a lot of good ideas represented, and the chapters skip around under a general heading in such a way to represent a general facet of millenarian or just apocalyptic belief in a fun and accessible way.
February 9, 2010
I read this 10 years ago, and would still recommend it to just about anyone. I particularly remember the chapters on people who try to gain sovereignty by creating their own private islands, the religious nuts trying to bring about the apocalypse by trying to raise a pure red cow, and those who try to prolong their lives infinitely.
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August 1, 2019A genial survey of American weirdos (too genial for my liking--a harder-edged approach might have been preferable), this reminded me of Jon Ronson's THEM and Louis Theroux's CALL OF THE WEIRD. Recommended.
September 14, 2011
I read this in part to get some potential research for my own fiction writing.
It's written back in the 90s, so it's mostly a historical book now. Still entertaining at times.
I didn't like the fact he put libertarians in the same group as people who think UFOs are coming to save us.
It's written back in the 90s, so it's mostly a historical book now. Still entertaining at times.
I didn't like the fact he put libertarians in the same group as people who think UFOs are coming to save us.
September 28, 2016
I lost my copy of this while on vacation, and I'm not especially bothered to track down another. I really liked the first chapter on Unarius but was getting bored by some of the middle chapters anyway. Worth a read if the topic appeals to you - let me know how the last few chapters are.
March 22, 2008
This was a fantastic read. I especially enjoyed the chapter on the extreme right wing and the chapter on the Unarians.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews