books: August 2007 Archives

I just finished reading Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation into Civilization's End. Before you get all, "Oh . . . he's one of those people," on me I'll have you know it's a really good book. I first learned of the book when I was watching some documentary on either The History Channel or Discovery or something like that. The show was presenting the topic of how the Earth could possibly end in a variety of scenarios like asteroids, comets, volcanoes, etc . . . and the book was cited for some reference. As the title suggests, it is a scientific exploration of the concept. It's not meant to scare the hell out of you by merely proclaiming that the world will end without any substance to back it up.

The author, Lawrence E. Joseph, is a scientist and a published author ( besides this book ). He starts out with background on the Mayan prophecy and significance of the 12/12/2012 date. In a nutshell, the Mayan calendar ends on that date and a new age will begin to bring both catastrophe and revelation. While there is plenty of speculation as to why, the author provides all kinds of scenarios that could provide a reason our world would cease to exist or be drastically changed.

For example, there could be a cataclysmic, volcanic eruption that would make our species extinct. Yellowstone is overdue. Solar activity could bombard the earth with deadly rays that literally cook our atmosphere and render it unsuitable for life to exist. Our world could be pummeled by asteroids or comets that cause such widespread destruction that we are essentially thrust backward into the stone age. And, of course, there's always that global warming thing - but thank goodness our current administration has assured us there's nothing to worry about there.

Lawrence consults with a number of highly renowned and respected scientists to explore and discuss the scenarios. He doesn't pull any punches. If there is a likelihood that a certain scenario could unfold by 2012, he makes it known. For example, many scientists believe that Yellowstone is overdue to erupt. According to evidence they have it seems to erupt at fairly regular intervals. However, that time has come and gone ( give or take ) and therefore the probability of an eruption exists in the near future. That doesn't necessarily mean that the eruption will occur exactly on 12/12/2012. But it doesn't guarantee that it won't either. Since there is no actual statement of what will positively happen on 12/12/2012, it's pretty easy to suggest that any possible scenario is likely.

There's no shortage of people who have their own agendas to fill and the Mayan prophecy is a likely scapegoat. For reasons such as this the author cites religious substance that also suggest the 12/12/2012 timeline as accurate. We've all heard of Armageddon. Could that be the prophecy of the Mayan end? It's not difficult to speculate what will ultimately happen - or if anything will happen at all. In reading this book, I didn't expect to finish it and have all the answers.

The author's style of writing the book was very conversational and at times, rather light hearted. It's not one of those, "run for the hills" kinds of books that will send you outside like Chicken Little to proclaim, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" It's an interesting read that will leave you a lot smarter and better able to decipher the bullshit that a good number of people would be happy to pile on your doorstep.

I just finished reading, Nation of Secrets: The Threat to Democracy and the American Way of Life by Ted Gup. I imagine it's quite possible that I've already been branded un-American if I'm reading something like that. That's not the case. I assure you. The other distinct possibility is that this book is just one more of those "Bush bashing books" that have been on the market. It's not necessarily one of those either. However, it does point out that over the last six years our habit of hiding and classifying information has increased dramatically.

Nation of Secrets does an excellent job of painting a portrait of how our society is being shrouded in secrecy. This doesn't just occur at the highest levels of government - it is becoming an everyday occurrence in many other institutions. From academia to law enforcement to everyday business there are secrets everywhere. While some of these secrets, and the process by which they are kept under tight control may be necessary, the end result of maintaining the confidentiality of the information is a disservice to the American public.

For example, consider the case of product recalls that are kept secret in closed-door legal scenarios in which the plaintiff signs a confidentiality agreement for a settlement offer over a faulty product that caused serious injury or death. Should that be a secret? better yet, consider the sexual assault on a college campus handled in a closed-door session. No information reaches the public. The assailant gets a slap on the wrist. All records are sealed. No one ever finds out that this is happening so the college doesn't have to report that sexual assaults are on the rise on their campus.

And what of the people who try to bring these secrets to the public? While there are laws to protect whistle-blowers it's a uphill battle for even the highly connected. This book further explores the emergence of new types of classifications of levels of secrecy that are quickly becoming innumerable. It's as if "classified", "top secret" and "secret" weren't enough. To make matters worse, there are even people who are assigned a task of going over publicly available and re-classifying it as top secret. Ted Gup's collection of several case studies explains how obsessive our nation has become in keeping secrets, the long-lasting effects of confidentiality and the negative effect it is having on our nation.