Have a Nice Doomsday

The end is nigh—or so says a subculture of American evangelical Christians. In a Time/CNN poll, 20% of those surveyed said they believe the Apocalypse will take place in their lifetime. The apocalyptic Left Behind series has sold over 60 million books. And websites predict the probability of Armageddon on a daily basis.

But just who are the evangelicals? What do they believe? And most importantly, who is listening to them? In his funny and informative book Have a Nice Doomsday, author Nick Guyatt attempts to find out. Guyatt, a British professor living in Canada, travels across the United States to visit NORAD, U.S. Space Command, the Air Force Academy, the halls of Congress, and even a church shaped like the White House. Strange, funny and unsettling in equal measure, Have a Nice Doomsday uncovers the apocalyptic obsession at the heart of the world’s only superpower.

Nicholas Guyatt was educated at Cambridge and Princeton, and he teaches history at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. He is a contributor to the London Review of Books and The Nation magazine, and he is the author of three previous books. Born and raised in England, he now lives in Vancouver.

“Guyatt, with a twinkle in his pen, an open mind, and a determination to give Rapture believers a fair hearing, has produced a provocative book.”—Daily Mail (London)