Doomsday Handbook: 50 Ways the World Could End

by Alok Jha

We live in a world teeming with deadly threats and apocalyptic horrors. Many of them are familiar: terrorism, lethal viruses, global warming and war, but many others most of us can't even imagine: self-replicating nanobots that can devour an entire planet, high-energy experiments that threaten to suck the Earth into a mini black hole, and even super-sophisticated scientific devices that can put an end to the entire universe. All these and more are explored in Alok Jha's lively and entertaining book. Ranging in scope from the very real perils of chemical pollution, resource depletion and overpopulation to the wilder shores of strangelets, superstorms and extraterrestrial invasion, The Doomsday Handbook is your complete guide to the science and sociology behind each potential apocalypse and what (if anything) we can do to prevent it.

This is an electrifying trip through the multitude of terrors vying to wipe out our species.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Veronica Hninn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a kid, I was told that the world was gonna end in 2012. I still remember the night of December 12, 2012 (which was the alleged doomsday). I was with my father in the living room, counting down the end of the world that never came.

But the thought has never left me. As much as we don’t want to admit, our planet is dying faster than ever. And one day, when she goes, she’s going to take us down along with her.

“Doomsday Handbook : 50 Ways The World Could End” by Alok Jha covers 50 different apocalyptic scenarios by drawing on evidences from science and in some cases, philosophy. This book is very informative and readable for a layperson like me. It doesn’t go too heavy on each topic, so you don’t need to worry about getting bored. But if you’re someone who wants to deep dive into apocalyptic science, this might not be the book for you.
My one complaint is that ‘50’ scenarios is a bit overwhelming. I started getting a little fatigued after reading 30 of them.
I’m still gonna give this book a 4/5 though🌟

[Ruby Tombstone Lives! · Rating 2 out of 5]

I purchased this book, because I thought it might make a good reference book for the Apocalypse Whenever group discussions. While it contains some interesting stats, I found the selection of disaster scenarios to be.... odd. Included is "It was all just a dream" and this reality doesn't actually exist anyway. Not included is an EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) strike. Included is "Death Of The Bees". You get my point.

There are some interesting scenarios that I haven't come across before, such as "Strangelets". It's a complex quantum physics theory which you'll have to Google yourself, because I'm not even going to attempt to explain it. But it's nice to see some variety.

While interesting in parts, it's not a very readable book on the whole. It jumps about a bit, and misses the point a bit. Information that most readers would be looking for just isn't there. Scenarios that many people will be familiar with, and interested in just aren't there. Survivalists will also be disappointed, as it doesn't really include any practical information either. It's all very theoretical.

And again - no EMP scenario? Seriously? Meh. There are better apocalyptic books around.

[Tiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little book about apocalyptic scenarios. Like all the books of this kind, some of the selected scenarios are funny and interesting and others are a bit boring and borderline nonsensical. Anyway it is a funny book and each chapter is self-contained.

[Tulpesh Patel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drawing on evidence from biology, geology, chemistry, technology, sociology, astronomy, quantum mechanics, Alok Jha presents science-based end-times scenarios, as a counter to all the god-based ones (or where the calendar just runs out.

Some of the threats are more concrete and relatable than others, for example viruses, global warming, freak weather events or asteroid impacts, and the threats range from, ‘actually it wouldn’t be so bad and we’d get over it eventually’ to ‘yep, it’s definitely all over’.

There are also purely theoretical discussions, like what exactly constitutes ‘time’ and what would happens if it ends, and ‘stranglets’, hypothetical particles made up of heavy strange quarks which could collide with ordinary matter and potentially turn Earth into ‘a hot lump strange matter’. These purely theoretical scenarios are really interesting, but they are taken a touch too far with an exploration of what if ‘it’s all a dream’ and we’re living in the Matrix, which, without getting into all the philosophical implications, I’m not sure counts as a doomsday scenario. As someone else mentioned in another review, in what are supposed to be the biggest threats to the humanity, it’s odd to include this and not electromagnetic pulses, which are familiar to anyone with a passing interest in the genre.

I’m long-term admirer of his science reporting for the Guardian and great podcasts, and this is a good showcase for Jha’s ability to explain complex scientific theories in an accessible, journalistic style. Given the dizzying range of topics covered, it is admirably researched, and it was great to see explicit references to published research and quotes from an impressive variety of experts. I’m not sure if the print version has a full reference list but my Kindle version didn’t, which is a real shame as I’m genuinely interested in reading some of the source material.

‘Handbook’ is definitely an appropriate title, as the book serves as a pretty good primer and launchpad for discovering new and occasionally mindboggling science; it is definitely a book more suited to being dipped in and out of, rather than being read continuously for any length of time. The scenarios and the science behind them are fascinating but after the reading the 30th one, I was getting a little fatigued. The repetitive format (what is it, how likely is it, and occasionally what we can do about it) and some of the repetitive content (a result of the massive overlap of some of the scenarios; global warming covers around half a dozen related topics), can get a little much. As good as some of the writing is, I think the book would have felt a little less throw-away if it covered half as many scenarios but each in more detail.

I found this Doomsday List, which covers a sample of apocalyptic events that were predicted to happen in the last 12 years but haven’t come to pass. It’s likely that all of the doomsday scenarios that Jha outlines will end up on this list, perhaps because humans devise ways of coping with them, their sheer unlikelihood, or because they were so far-fetched to begin with. Perhaps, as Jha suggests, our fate will be decided by an unknown unknown. Or, maybe it will all come to end just because god wants it to.

[LyL3_Z · Rating 1 out of 5]

lettura veramente bruttina... articoletti ripetitivi, che lasciano spazio a molti dubbi (probabilmente le estinzioni passate sarebbero attribuibili a...qualsiasi cosa, in sostanza), frammentario, dispersivo, spesso bislacco, sarebbe potuto durare molte pagine in meno. Non parliamo della causa: "ma se fosse tutto un sogno?"... specchietti per le allodole? Voglia di divertire il lettore, voglia di spettacolarizzazione, svolta cinematografica? Odio quando la divulgazione si comporta così. Inoltre in alcuni casi le fonti sono datate e il taglio lascia abbastanza agghiacciati: mi riferisco al capitoletto sulla disgenica in cui pare di stare a leggere Lombroso... quanto fa figo dire che la criminalità è genetica e chi si riproduce ha un più basso QI e quindi delinque? Quanta scena fa questa semplificazione? Manda direttamente a farsi fottere l'approccio nature + nurture e l'influenza dell'ambiente sul comportamento. Roba pericolosissima.
Pieno di teoria delle stringhe, ovviamente, che fa sempre presa sul popolo e pare esista solo lei. Ma basta. Per favore.

[Aaron Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the usual suspects get cursory treatment here, with just enough detail to pique your curiosity. Jha succeeds in making the complex comprehensible, the obtuse occidentally apparent. At least if the works ends, I can say I've been entertainingly warned.

[Sergio Perkunas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Leggete Topolino o Novella 2000
Ho iniziato a leggere questo libro e subito mi sono stupito che in un libro di divulgazione scientifica, pubblicato da Bollati Boringhieri, non ci fossero riferimenti bibliografici per ogni affermazione fatta.
Finché parlava di argomenti da me poco conosciuti, avevo dubbi, storcevo il naso ma andavo avanti. Quando ha cominciato a parlare di cose che conosco meglio mi sono reso conto che sarebbe stato meglio leggere Topolino o Novella 2000 che sono dichiaratamente fantasia o frivolezze scandalistiche.
In questo libro (per gli argomenti che conosco) ho incontrato:
- blocchi di metano congelato nel fondo del mare che con l'innalzamento della temperatura si potrebbero sciogliere e arrivare come gas in superficie (il metano fonde a -182° C, forse su Nettuno ci potrebbe essere il metano solido, non certo sulla Terra);
- acqua e anidride solforosa, in un ambiente povero di ossigeno, che formano acido solforico (con una bestialità del genere si boccia al liceo);
- batteri che si nutrono dei loro scarti metabolici (come se gli animali potessero nutrirsi della loro cacca, avremmo fatto il moto perpetuo).
E via e via così, con errori imbarazzanti e tantissime altre assurdità che nelle chiacchiere da bar possono far sorridere, mentre in un libro di divulgazione scientifica fanno soltanto rabbia (e ancora di più se pubblicati da una casa editrice che di solito considero molto seria).
Ho interrotto la lettura appena si sono iniziati a trattare argomenti dei quali posso dire con certezza che l'autore non capisce niente ma vuol lo stesso parlare, probabilmente perdendomi chissà quante altre perle ("Gli stupidi sono pieni di certezze, mentre i saggi sono pieni di dubbi" B. Russell).

[Andrea Davini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro che mette addosso molta rabbia dato che l'idea di base sarebbe potenzialmente molto accattivante ma l'esecuzione lascia a desiderare a causa di alcuni capitoli che sembrano veramente tirati via, scritti alla bell'e meglio.
Dopo essere partito a razzo con la lettura mi sono ritrovato a bloccarmi molto spesso e l'ho finito praticamente per inerzia.

Un libro potenzialmente da 5 stelle che deve accontentarsi della sufficienza a causa dei suoi alti e bassi, peccato.

[J. Fernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buen libro de consulta. 👍

[Zaki Ansari · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good place to look for problems you may want to solve through your life's work.

[Alessio Turturiello]

La mia precedente recensione è andata perduta, per cui cercherò di fare una nuova sintesi di ciò che penso del libro. È certamente una lettura interessante, le casistiche prese in questione vengono sufficientemente esplorate (anche quelle più distopiche e distanti dalla realtà) e risultano tutte interessanti per chi ama il tema dell'apocalisse pur volendo restare quanto più ancorato possibile alla realtà e al pragmatismo.
Risulta un po' confusionario e "pesante" da leggere quando vengono riportati in fila diversi studi a supporto delle suddette ipotesi, ma d'altronde un minimo di scientificità era necessaria (ricordiamo che l'autore è un fisico).
In ogni caso, lettura piacevole, consiglio di leggere un capitolo al giorno per renderlo più "leggero".

[Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of the few non-fiction books I really enjoyed, it has some very interesting topics and detail in those topics, what it is, how it would destroy earth, when, what to do when it happens. It has some topics that I would never have thought could destroy earth, E.G. Nano technology, Lethal space dust, etc.... Some of the ones I know like Death by bees, or water wars, were a little boring but it was nice to read them in a very good amount of detail. Even if you know all the ways the world could end in, this book will still be useful, and fun to read.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think there was a single idea in here that was new to me -- every last one of these seems to have come up on Reddit in the last 24 months or so. Bland writing. I plowed through it hoping to find something new/interesting, but it turned out to be a total waste of time.

[Blair Hodgkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable romp through all sorts of ways our civilization, our world, our solar system and our galaxy could each or all suddenly end today... or in billions of years. Interesting, informative and thought-provoking. Strangely enough, it's also entertaining at times.

[Lis · Rating 3 out of 5]

50 ipotesi su come potrebbe finire la vita sulla terra. 30 sarebbero state un numero più giusto, le ultime ipotesi sono un po' ripetitive e si arriva stancamente alla fine.
Un libro leggero e carino, ma senza la brillantezza ad esempio di Bryson con il suo Breve storia di quasi tutto

[Tony P · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable science book. Not too heavy on the science, but not too light either. The concepts were fairly easy to grasp.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not recommended for the paranoid, panicked or fearful. But everyone else, read merrily on.

[Virginia Rand · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting book, but hard to read all in one go.

[Night · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - suggest a read if your preparing for any doomsday events anytime soon...