Apocalypse Pretty Soon: Travels In End-Time America

(Paperback)

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Description

The inspired madness of America's apocalyptic and pre-millennial organizations may have reached a fever pitch with the turn of the twenty-first century, but intrepid cultural traveler Alex Heard spent a ten-year period witnessing the crescendo firsthand.Heard's enthusiasm led him on errands as diverse as being a voyeur at a Republic of Texas militia standoff, accompanying an expectant UFO "greeting party" to a remote field in Minnesota, and enacting the grief of the California quail at an ad-hoc therapy group for fierce environmentalists who believe the earth is an actual living entity that's preparing to kill off its human population--and soon...or at least pretty soon. Amazing as it may seem, however, throughout this trenchant subcultural travelogue, Heard never stoops to ridicule his subjects.As one reviewer puts it, "Heard's real achievement may be that he makes us care--in a way that is more than voyeuristic--about the colorful characters he meets on the road to the new millennium.He takes these people seriously, allows his assumptions to be challenged, and lets himself find that some of their beliefs and fears reflect his own" (San Jose Mercury News). Apocalypse Pretty Soon will appeal to science fiction fans and students of subcultures, as well as anybody interested in way-out alternatives to the brave new world. Amazing as it may seem, however, throughout this trenchant subcultural travelogue, Heard never stoops to ridicule his subjects. As one reviewer put it, "Heard's real achievement may be that he makes us care--in a way that is more than voyeuristic--about the colorful characters he meets on the road to the new millennium. He takes these people seriously, allows his assumptions to be challenged, and lets himself find that some of their beliefs and fears reflect his own" (San Jose Mercury News). Now in paperback, this book will have an audience well beyond "millenniamania," from science fiction fans to students of subculture, and anybody interested in way-out alternatives to the brave new world. -->

Reviews

"A frequently hilarious traipse through the bizarro netherworld of millennial and utopian subcultures."
--Washington Post Book World

"Apocalypse Pretty Soon is a funny must-read for anyone looking for a respite from doom-and-gloom offerings currently on the bookstore shelves."
--Chicago Tribune

"Funny, unsettling, crank-packed...an all-American take on the looming exclamation point at the end of history."
--Entertainment Weekly

"Heard is an engaging writer: witty, not snide, not superior...turn to the chapter titled 'Death, Be Not in My Face,' read it, and I think you will agree: This is not simply silly stuff; this is the human comedy."
--Katherine Powers, Boston Globe

Author Bio

Alex Heard is an editor at Wired magazine.He has also edited and written for The New York Times Magazine, Outside, The New Republic, Slate, and many other publications.