From Library Journal

Abanes, an investigative reporter and director of the Religious Information Center in Southern California, has written a well-researched, highly entertaining, and informative book about the human fascination with apocalyptic events. He asserts that doomsaying prophets throughout history were not only often wrong but spectacularly wrong, and he backs up his conclusions with a tremendous amount of documentation. He covers a great deal of ground: from the nightmare worlds of Jim Jones, David Koresh, and Shoko Asahara, to the biblical battles between Gog and Magog, a scenario that was often used as a prediction that the former Soviet Union "will" invade Israel. Of special note are his investigations into the prophecies of the "sleeping prophet" Edgar Cayce and Nostradamus, whose work, under a clear light, proves unreliable and false. As the millennium approaches, the public's hunger for more books prophecizing the end of history, earth, and time will grow and public libraries will be forced to satiate it with more purchases of such materials. It is therefore paramount that this book also be purchased and be placed among those "end-of-the-world" books as a reasoning and enlightening voice. Highly recommended for public libraries and all collections dealing with the supernatural or the occult.?Glenn Masuchika, Chaminade Univ. Lib., HonoluluCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From

"Interestingly, nearly all the faiths now experiencing rapid growth throughout the world promote a common doctrine: at some point in the near future, our world will be destroyed," Abanes says. Writing neatly, footnoting nicely, he visits the world of millenarians and others mining the current doomsday craze, explaining their views and expatiating on their histories. Ordinarily, this might not make entertaining reading, but Abanes' skepticism stands him in good stead in this regard as he enumerates and explains the twisting strands of prophecy and belief of which the fabric of Armageddon is made without ever becoming enamored of them. Thus he produces great stuff for those who want to know the specifics about what happened the other times--1900, 1666, 1000--the end of the earth loomed so clearly for so many. Buy his book now and get a few years' circulation out of it before the world and everything in it become moot points. Mike Tribby