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Book review ~ The Next Apocalypse, Chris Begley

by Jade @ The Elder Books

The Next Apocalypse
Author : Chris Begley
Genre : Non-fiction
Publisher : Basic Books
Release date : 16th November

Pandemic, climate change, or war: our era is ripe with the odor of doomsday. In movies, books, and more, our imaginations run wild with visions of dreadful, abandoned cities and returning to the land in a desperate attempt at survival.

In The Next Apocalypse, archaeologist Chris Begley argues that we completely misunderstand how disaster works. Examining past collapses of civilizations, such as the Maya and Rome, he argues that these breakdowns are actually less about cataclysmic destruction than they are about long processes of change. In short: it's what happens after the initial uproar that matters. Some people abandon their homes and neighbors; others band together to start anew. As we anticipate our own fate, Begley tells us that it was communities, not lone heroes, who survived past apocalypses—and who will survive the next.

I don't often read non-fiction, but this one caught my interest as it deals with the decline of civilisations, ways of life, cultures, etc. The title is a bit misleading to me, as it's not really about apocalypses, or anything, but more about anthropology. So, good job on the title author and editor! It totally makes people want to pick up the book!

Anyway, I liked reading about how societies that were huge in the past managed to evolve and tried to ensure survival for everyone, or most people. It's pretty cool to see how people reacted to change, and to understand there were never/rarely true apocalypses or big falls of civilizations. People merely adapted to another normal.

It was pretty informative in that sense. I only had a bit of an issue with the author, who narrates the whole book, as most of the narration revolved around him, what he did in his life etc. I mean, sometimes it was relevant, sometimes it felt like it wasn't so much. Still, I managed to follow his train of thought and read about the changes in various civilizations without getting bored or feeling the book was too long!