I must say the topic of this book is not one I have been highly interested in and in fact is a subject that I have often rolled my eyes at when brought up in conversation. I have had people ask me recently if I think the world is going to end in 2012, and as I am not especially familiar with the argument behind this reasoning, I thought this book might be worthwhile. It was not at all what I expected, which was a Christians perspective on why the end of the world in 2012 topic is nonsense. That is not at all where the author goes here. While the author is in fact a Christian, he strives to explore the topic mostly on the basis of fact and reasoning. The book is laid out with a chapter devoted to the 10 most “popular” end of the world views, where they come from, and how much actual evidence supports each. An example of two of the topics discussed are the abrupt end of the famed Mayan calendar and what it really means for the end of the world, as well as the possibility of super storms that could cause such destruction life as we know it would end. I must say I don’t know enough about any of these topics to say if the author covers each fairly or in depth. However, it seems that each is well researched and fairly evaluated. The conclusion the author gives on several of the chapter topics left me very surprised. Ultimately, the author concludes that regardless of when the world ends, there are things we can do to ensure that we face the end of our lives with confidence, peace, and joy rather than with fear and dread. If you are interested in this topic as a Christian I think this book would be informative, but I think this could be especially useful as a reading resource for any non-believer you may know who is interested in, or fearful of, the question “will the world end in 2012?”.
