Examining the doomsday scenarios and apocalyptic predictions of visionaries, televangelists, survivalists, and various other endtimes enthusiasts, as well as popular culture, film, music, fashion, and humor, Daniel Wojcik sheds new light on America's fascination with worldly destruction and transformation. He explores the origins of contemporary apocalyptic beliefs and compares religious and secular apocalyptic speculation, showing us the routes our belief systems have traveled over the centuries to arrive at the dawn of a new millennium. Included in his sweeping examination are premillennial prophecy traditions, prophecies associated with visions of the Virgin Mary, secular ideas about nuclear apocalypse, the transformation of apocalyptic prophecy in the post-Cold War era, and emerging apocalyptic ideas associated with UFOs and extraterrestrials.
recommended by spinner for my final paper. some really good stuff in here about apocalypticism, especially in terms of atomic bombs (Hiroshima & Nagasaki- August 1945, Cold War…) we are afraid of the end of the world and it permeates American culture. include some sections on the role of prophecy enthusiasts such as Hal Lindsey, and lots of thorough information on general post&pre Cold War prophecy. Wojcick writes clearly and concisely, and this book was very helpful for my paper on the interactions between American religion and the arms race between the Soviet Union & the U.S.