Have a Nice Doomsday: Why millions of Americans are looking forward to the end of the world

(Paperback)

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Description

A bizarre and fascinating journey into the United States' religious heartlands - and why 50 million Americans believe the apocalypse is imminent Journeying to the dusty heartlands of America's Bible Belt, Nicholas Guyatt goes in search of the truth behind a startling statistic- 50 million Americans believe the apocalypse will take place in their own lifetimes. They're convinced that, any day now, Jesus will snatch up his followers and spirit them to heaven. For the rest of us, things are going to get very nasty indeed- massive earthquakes, devastating wars, not to mention the terrifying rise of the Antichrist. But true believers aren't just sitting around waiting for the Rapture. They're getting involved in debates over abortion, gay rights and even foreign policy. Are they devout or deranged Why do they seem so cheerful about the end of the world And, given the disturbing involvement of a leading presidential candidate, does their influence stretch beyond the Bible Belt ... perhaps even to the White House Strange, funny and unsettling in equal measure, Have a Nice Doomsday uncovers the apocalyptic obsession at the heart of the world's only superpower.

Reviews

Guyatt, with a twinkle in his pen, an open mind and a determination to give Rapture believers a fair hearing, has produced a provocative book * Daily Mail *
Arresting and entertaining * Sunday Telegraph *
Funny and frightening investigation * Scotland on Sunday *
A wonderfully readable survey * The Tablet *
Wise and funny * Catholic Herald *

Author Bio

Born and brought up in the UK, Nicholas Guyatt spent seven years in the United States - first as a PhD student at Princeton and then as a lecturer in Princeton's Department of History - prior to teaching American History at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. His book on US foreign policy, Another American Century, was published by Zed Books in 2000, and he is a regular reviewer for the London Review of Books. He divides his time between Canada and London.