Have a Nice Doomsday

November 15, 2007
This humorous, first-person narrative details Guyatt's (history, Simon Fraser Univ., B.C."; Providence and the Invention of the United States" exploration of an end-times-obsessed subculture of Christianity in which the words "rapture, tribulation" and "Armageddon"are part of the everyday vocabulary. Guyatt examines the motivations and personalities of some of the biggest names in the end-times businesse.g., John Hagee ("Jerusalem Countdown", Tim LaHaye (the "Left Behind" series), Hal Lindsey ("The Late Great Planet Earth", and Joel Rosenberg ("The Last Jihad"as well as some smaller names. He exposes the conflicting views of sincere end-times believers, asking, e.g., whether the Antichrist will use Islam or humanism to take over the world and whether political means should be used to postpone or hasten the inevitable. Along the way, he explains the history of apocalypticism in America and the basics of dispensational theology for a popular audience. (Readers can find a more complete treatment of these topics elsewhere, e.g., in the second edition of George M. Marsden's "Fundamentalism and American Culture") Guyatt's skepticism is obvious; nonetheless, he portrays his subjects with fairness and dimension. Recommended for public and undergraduate libraries.Nancy E. Adams, Harrisburg Area Community Coll., PA

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.