The Last Myth: What the Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking Tells Us About America

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To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Last Myth , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Mar 22, Will rated it liked it Shelves: This book came to me through the wonderful Goodreads First Reads program! Thank you to the authors and to Goodreads!

The first half of this book deals with the history of a question I have wondered about. How did we get to become a society fascinated with the end of the world? Is it our nature to always get to the end of things or what? There had to be a point where our thinking and reasoning changed, and this book explains how that came to be. It also looking into how the last decade has become This book came to me through the wonderful Goodreads First Reads program!

It also looking into how the last decade has become a sort of apocalyptic decade. I will give the authors plenty of credit when it comes to research and explanation of things as simple as Kellogg's cereal and the connection to apocalyptic thinking. The last half of the book takes on a different take than I expected. I thought maybe it would look at Y2K and the Mayan calendar or a comet to point out our possible demise. Instead the authors took a profound and deep look at current thinking in the American mind.

I will say the last half of the book while laid out extremely well If you are a Republican you may be upset by some of the things written, even Democrats will not unscathed through the chapters. Even myself, being a news producer, took a few jabs. While I am not one who looks to write breathlessly about the next pandemic or the next country sending us into World War III, I will say the same is not true about all stations, networks, or producers. So to the authors point taken, and there is a lot to be taken away from this book.

If you're looking for a tell how the Mayans are going to end all of this in If you're looking for a book that takes a very interesting look at where we are in American society, give it a read.

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It's only about pages and a very quick read. Jul 24, James rated it liked it. I wish I could rate this book higher. The authors clearly put a lot of thought into their subject, and their ideas could help readjust the focus of public discourse in the US at a time when we really need it. The central thesis here is that apocalyptic thinking has commandeered our psychological approach to a number of national and global challenges, and it leads us to obsess about moments yet to I wish I could rate this book higher.

The central thesis here is that apocalyptic thinking has commandeered our psychological approach to a number of national and global challenges, and it leads us to obsess about moments yet to come when we should be considering trends that are manifest in the here and now. The authors structure a coherent argument for why this might be so, and although the historical exposition is overly simplistic, I found The Last Myth to be persuasive on the whole. I love the added depth that endnotes can provide, and this book has twenty pages of them.

I was disgusted, however, to find that many of them refer to Wikipedia pages. The second problem is the entirety of chapter six. After one hundred and fifty pages of a carefully constructed description of the convergence of Judeo-Christian eschatology and secular anxiety, the book takes an inexplicable rhetorical detour into a psychology theory of questionable relevance. The Last Myth is worth reading, despite those shortcomings. However, it offers food for thought, and it articulated important ideas that had remained inchoate in my own mind for far too long.

May 23, Aryn rated it it was ok Shelves: Just realized I never got around to reviewing this book. Now where did my copy that Goodreads First Reads sent me run off to? Now this book claims that it talks about how Apocalyptic thinking has changed Western Culture, and how exactly that it came to be so prevalent. I don't think it very effectively tackled the first point. However, I think that the theory behind the second point was fascinating. In our ancient past, "there was no such thing as novelty. Endings in their mythology was not the important parts of the myths, the important part of the myths was what came at the beginning or what came AFTER the ending, in a new beginning.

Any ending would only result in rebirth and the recurrence of the creative cycle - so why be obsessed with it. History, to these ancient people meant something entirely different. History repeated itself, and everything was cyclical. It wasn't until history became something we understood as novel and behind us, unrepeatable that apocalyptic thinking was even possible. That part was fascinating. However, once I made it a third or so of the way through the book I felt like I was re-reading.

Even the sentences seemed familiar. It had a copy-pasta feel to it. The book was interesting, but maybe it should have been way shorter, if they felt the need to repeat themselves. This will go down as one of my favorite summer reads of Great insights and analysis on why apocalyptic thinking persist in the U. Apocalyptic thinking is embedded in the language and functions as a way to shut down cogent and intelligent analysis of any given crisis.

Book Review: The Last Myth: What the Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking Tells Us About America

Fear is the handmaiden of fascism while intellectual and sober discussion is the scourge of the oppressor. This book helps to deconstruct what is really going on spiritually and ideologically. The authors makes a strong argu This will go down as one of my favorite summer reads of The authors makes a strong argument for a return to the intelligence of our ancestors who concerned themselves with preserving oneness with nature, how humanity began not how it will all end.

The writers begin with a history of apocalyptic thought dating it to the Israelites who split off and became apocalypse Jews. The contradictions of Jesus' apocalyptic preachings about the "kingdom of God is at hand The folly of date-setting regarding the end of times and the rise of "the rapture" in the United States. It is, indeed, a must-read.

Nov 22, Benjamin Thompson rated it really liked it. Matthew Gross paints an interesting picture of human history in this book. In particular, he argues that the major force in 21st century culture is the belief that the end is nigh. More accurately, what is driving, or stifling, our civilization is the belief that the future is both inevitable and cataclysmic. He swiftly blows through the rise of this belief in a fixed through the rise of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

It is at this point that Gross seems to provide the least amount of research o Matthew Gross paints an interesting picture of human history in this book. It is at this point that Gross seems to provide the least amount of research or originality for that matter. Nevertheless, his central thesis seems to stay intact as he points his readers to the more important narrative; the rise of the secular apocalypse. Whether it be Y2K, a super-volcanic eruption, an asteroid strike or global warming, Americans believe more than ever that we are heading down a path of destruction. We believe that what everyone else calls progress is actually regress and that in the end our worldview will be proven right.

The 21st century has been populated by hundreds of millions of people daydreaming about the day when they will yell at their neighbor, "I told you so! Christian teachings have been far more nuanced than simply saying God is sovereign and therefore all we can do is wait for coming judgment.

Gross acknowledges this but again swiftly dismisses these theological innovations as intellectually awkward, if not completely incoherent. This does expose a fatal weak spot in Gross's narrative.

The Last Myth: What the Rise of Apocalyptic Thinking Tells Us About America

Christian theologians have long expressed that God, while sovereign, works through people and is using His Church to build His kingdom. If God has structured His Church to help resolve the social ills of our time and strive to make an ever-better society, then we must do so, regardless of how God will ultimately bring about the fulfillment of His Kingdom on earth. I think Gross is ultimately right, we cannot afford to divorce ourselves from our ideals. If we believe God should reign on earth as He does in Heaven, we must bear the cross that comes with that ideal.

Feb 27, Erica rated it really liked it. This was a good, fast read, but I was expecting something a bit more from it. Which perhaps points to the space it leaves open for another, more academic book of its kind.

Some incredible factoids, some good research and thinking, but I think there's more work to be done. The book focuses not so much on apocalyptic thinking or apocalyptic culture persay, but does a very good job of mapping apocalyptic thinking's rise, and links it with global history and trends about the belief of time. Instead This was a good, fast read, but I was expecting something a bit more from it.

Instead of getting at culture, the authors ultimately try to point to some of the consequences of such thinking. Written from a very liberal and welcome point of view, they believe that apocalyptic responses to global problems and change especially through and since the 90s, marked by the great growth of cable TV and cult conservative religions is actually debilitating us--making us less apt to act in a concerted manner to address these problems, to change our ways of life, to right the ship, etc. I think this is right, and a very good message to spread, but I'm still wondering about the actual "culture" of apocalysm, and how seemingly desperately it's tied to American-style late capitalism.

It seems to me that it's deeply reflective of the guilt many Americans have from living so high on the hog for so long It also seems to me that it's a response to the soul-deadening quality of late capitalism ie, feeling that we are nothing but consumers , the digital age, and the incredible population growth all over the planet. It's most deeply a way of responding to a felt lack of individuality, I think. It's a way of making ourselves feel ultimately meaningful, for hoping for something different. View all 4 comments. Apr 21, Melanie rated it liked it Shelves: I wish I could give a book on this topic more than three stars, but this one is, in my opinion, poorly written.

Although the author does not intend to, he often confuses the reader about whether there is any difference between an imaginary apocalypse based on religion and a potential apocalypse based on human actions and scientific advances. Occasionally he makes this distinction clear, but more often than not, he does not. He does make a strong case that American society is obsessed with the pote I wish I could give a book on this topic more than three stars, but this one is, in my opinion, poorly written.

He does make a strong case that American society is obsessed with the potential end of the world, more so than other modern cultures. This seems to stem from the advent of monotheism and the invention of the concept that there is a god who created everything and who judges the world and its human inhabitants. This apocalyptic thinking has taken deep root in the Christian religion where various sects see the 2nd coming of their savior with the physical end of the world and possibly the rapture as closely related chronologically.

According to this book, before the advent of monotheism, time was viewed as circular and never-ending. At any rate, religiously based apocalypse are constantly in the immediate future no matter how that future rolls into the past. Apocalyptic thinking based on science population growth, ecological collapse, nuclear holocaust, global warming , on the other hand, are all issues that we as human beings cannot afford to ignore.

They are disasters that we could potential avert due to our own actions. It seems that a religious apocalypse can only be hastened by human actions.

But, the book claims when it is speaking in a voice that can be understood, by equating these two types of disasters, we end up taking no action on those whose outcome we can potentially change. At least that's what I think the book says. Although we often take it for granted that events are historical by nature, traditional societies believed that the world was shaped by events in the realm of mythology. But simply seeing the world as shaped by historical events does not necessarily indicate a belief in an impending apocalypse either. And still further to the United States of the 21st century, where apocalyptic rhetoric seems to be coming from every direction.

For a time, the Norse were able to live well on the island, thanks in large part to a period now known as the Medieval Warm Period. They adopted a lifestyle similar in many respects to that lived by their forebears in Norway and Iceland, herding sheep and engaging in trade with Europe. By the early 14th century, climactic conditions had cooled, and Greenland entered into the period called the Little Ice Age.

Life became very bad for the settlers, who could not bear the cold winters and due to thick ice had difficulty obtaining the caribou, seals, and walruses that ordinarily supplemented their diet.

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Meanwhile, the Inuit, having developed technologies appropriate to the cold conditions, including harpoons, kayaks, and igloos, were able to thrive in plain sight of the Norse. And yet, although many people died every year to starvation, sickness, or cold weather, no effort was made to adopt the technologies of the Inuit. In a further example of the rigidity of their cultural worldview, the Norse also refused to eat the fish that were plentiful near their settlements, a taboo developed by earlier settlers to the island.

Instead, they resorted to eating their calves and finally their dogs, until at last, by , the last settlers had died. To the end, the Greenland Norse found total extinction easier to bear than the radical cultural changes that would have saved them. Why did the Greenland Norse choose to cling to their culture rather than adapt to changing conditions? The authors begin their explanation by looking at research produced by social psychologists from the University of Kansas.

To put this another way, when people feel that their lives contribute to a cultural system, they cling to this system because it helps them to forget about their own mortality. In the most well-known test of this theory, the psychologists showed a group of Christian students the film Faces of Death , in order to bring attention to their mortality.

A second group of Christians was shown a lighthearted comedy instead.

The psychologists then asked both groups to provide feedback on essays that were written by Christian and Jewish students. Their findings corroborated the theory:. The students who had experienced reminders of their own mortality were significantly more critical of the essays written by the Jewish students; their criticisms at times bordered on the anti-Semitic.

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Just as worldview defense had predicted, the Christian students who had been reminded of death sought to bolster their own worldviews by denigrating the beliefs of others The Norse, confronted with death, followed this same pattern of events. The same threats that eventually brought about their demise also pressured them to sustain their cultural worldview, even after it became extremely apparent that it was no longer tenable.

Liberal or conservative, the vast majority of Americans share a common cultural purpose: The reason people in the United States have become entranced by the apocalypse is because that cultural worldview has become fundamentally eroded.

Despite abundant evidence that the age of perpetual economic progress is over, people grip hold of it to give their lives meaning. The desire that we feel for an apocalyptic moment is the desire to vindicate our beliefs.

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