Review by Booklist Review
In her analysis of existential threats and cataclysms, journalist Wade discovers resiliency, transformation, and, ultimately, the chance at survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Drawing on history, archaeology, and even some of her imagination, she finds possibilities and surprises arising from major destructive events. Wade defines an apocalypse as "a rapid, collective loss that fundamentally changes a society's way of life and sense of identity." Her examples include a period of massive flooding about 7,000 years ago when sea levels rose hundreds of feet worldwide, a severe and prolonged drought occurring 4,000 years ago, the Black Death (bubonic plague) of the mid-1300s (estimated to have killed up to sixty percent of Europe's population), and European colonialism, which ravaged Indigenous people and their cultures starting 500 years ago. Currently, climate change is tragically on course to wreak havoc on the planet. Wade wisely notes, "Apocalypses have always revealed and exploited societies' weak points." Look no further than COVID-19 for proof of that. A pensive study of past calamities, the chaos that ensues, and emerging opportunities for hopeful new beginnings.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Journalist and Science correspondent Wade looks at apocalypses through the lens of archaeology. She defines an apocalypse as "a rapid, collective loss that fundamentally changes a society's way of life and sense of identity," a broad view that encompasses natural disasters exacerbated by climate change (e.g., flooding or drought), natural phenomena such as El Niño and diseases, and distinctly human catastrophes including colonialism and slavery. Wade imagines the catastrophes, their effects on people, and the aftermath and describes the discoveries and techniques that present-day archaeologists use to uncover and recreate past events. Cities affected by apocalypses often rebuild to reflect their new conditions, and Wade includes plenty of examples of the societies that came into being post apocalypse. The book is global in focus and includes both ancient and modern settlements among its examples, including Wade's hometown of Mexico City, which was affected by COVID-19 and flooding. She stresses the need for societies to adapt and change when apocalypses occur. VERDICT A compelling look at disasters and their aftermath, especially relevant in times of changing climate. Recommended for readers interested in climate narratives.--Rebekah Kati
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Big, bad changes in human history. Award-winning science journalist Wade opens by defining "apocalypse" as "a rapid, collective loss that fundamentally changes a society's way of life" and then proceeds to examine world events from the last 50,000 years. Most don't meet her definition, but few readers will complain. The Neanderthal extinction of 40,000 years ago probably passed with few fireworks. It's also a matter of pure speculation. Wade's summary of the latest findings emphasizes a mostly nonviolent ebbing of scattered bands of long-established Europeans in the face of more numerous immigrants from the east. Aside from the occasional volcanic eruption or invasion, Wade's apocalypses are slow, often taking centuries, fascinating to archeologists and historians if not Hollywood producers. Humans often quarrel, compete, and make war, but no day passes when they don't yearn to eat, so bad weather and famine play an outsized role. Forty-two hundred years ago, rainfall diminished around the world. Egypt's Old Kingdom collapsed as Nile floods became a trickle. This is well documented, but archeologists are still unearthing huge cities across India, their writing still undeciphered, abandoned during this time. Pacific Ocean temperature changes produce El Niño weather, which annoys Americans but devastates Peru and may have done worse in the past. The author concludes with two apocalypses that gave birth to today's world: Europe's incursion into the Americas, which killed tens of millions of people, and African slavery, which took the lives of millions more. Looking to the future, Wade writes, "It's time to get used to living in, and with, the apocalypse….Unlike most of the apocalypses in this book, ours are and will be truly global. In the case of climate change, it might eventually transform our planet into a place unlike any human has ever seen before." A sobering look at how cultures die. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
