You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
362 reviews for:
The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses
Dan Carlin
3.74 AVERAGE
362 reviews for:
The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses
Dan Carlin
3.74 AVERAGE
informative
If you like Dan you’ll enjoy this book. If you’re meh on him you’ll be meh on his book. I am meh.
This book asks a lot of interesting questions about history and about morals and ethics of people who lived in ancient times and as recently as WWII.
Chapter 6 is eerie to read given the current COVID-19 pandemic. This book came out before the pandemic and chapter 6 asks a lot of good questions about pandemics.
The only issue I have with this book is that the formatting of the footnotes in the ebook edition I read were frustrating.
Chapter 6 is eerie to read given the current COVID-19 pandemic. This book came out before the pandemic and chapter 6 asks a lot of good questions about pandemics.
The only issue I have with this book is that the formatting of the footnotes in the ebook edition I read were frustrating.
3.75?
I love Dan Carlin - Hardcore History is without a doubt my favourite podcast even when it talks about 20th century history.
The book is really solid as well, but I guess I have heard most of this before in the shows. The chapter on pandemics was... unpleasant at this time. Generally, I wished for a more overarching narrative, but the writing is smooth and gripping, and it took me very little time to get through. So it's definitely worth a read.
But the footnotes... how???? Why???? Like 30% of the book is in the footnotes :D I'm not kidding, check it out yourself.
***
They were raising kids to live in their world, a world alien to us.
I love Dan Carlin - Hardcore History is without a doubt my favourite podcast even when it talks about 20th century history.
The book is really solid as well, but I guess I have heard most of this before in the shows. The chapter on pandemics was... unpleasant at this time. Generally, I wished for a more overarching narrative, but the writing is smooth and gripping, and it took me very little time to get through. So it's definitely worth a read.
But the footnotes... how???? Why???? Like 30% of the book is in the footnotes :D I'm not kidding, check it out yourself.
***
They were raising kids to live in their world, a world alien to us.
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
I came at this book from the lens of an avid listener of Carlin’s Podcasts (all of them), and I would like to start by addressing some of the complaints I have read about the book.
1. Complaint: The book repeats a lot of what his podcasts state.
Answer: well yes, sort of. It does deal with many of the same situations because it is built from the material that he did not use in the show while creating his episodes on the same subjects. Thus, a lot of it will be familiar, However, I enjoyed that aspect of it. No one can memorize all of the information that he talks about, so it is nice to have some refreshers along with a few other things thrown in. For that reason, if you like the podcast get the book. His voice also comes through, which is nice.
2. Complaint: It does not go into as much detail on each topic as the podcast.
Answer: I am not sure what to tell you here. His podcasts are often multi-episodes long with some parts being over 300 minutes. Look at the length of this book… what did you expect? This wasn’t meant to overburden you with info, but instead to give nice overview and get your own ideas running. And it accomplishes this perfectly. This book is meant as more of a starter I believe, a gateway into the podcast—not the other way around.
3. Complaint: The book does not give any new ideas or theories, but instead rehashes a bunch of ideas from other people.
Answer: well yeah, he admits it himself up front: “I am no historian.” In fact, he is considered by some as “America’s History Teacher,” which points to this fact; he is teaching us what is out there and being talked about, not making new waves of his own. This book is not meant to break new barriers, but instead it is meant to show us how complicated things are, while letting us see the many possible sides to each event; and in doing this, the book functions perfect.
So, all in all, this book is awesome. It sums up issues from and about key historical events that were/are or could have been apocalyptic moments, such as the fall of the bronze age to our current dance of nuclear power. Carlin sums up these points clearly and provides many lenses from which we can understand each event. If you are somewhat of an academic like me, you will love the index and the further reading list. It is nice to get to read over the primary and secondary documents that he is working with.
This book is a must read for anyone who has any inkling for history. It is clear, concise, captivating, and quite fascinating. 5/5
1. Complaint: The book repeats a lot of what his podcasts state.
Answer: well yes, sort of. It does deal with many of the same situations because it is built from the material that he did not use in the show while creating his episodes on the same subjects. Thus, a lot of it will be familiar, However, I enjoyed that aspect of it. No one can memorize all of the information that he talks about, so it is nice to have some refreshers along with a few other things thrown in. For that reason, if you like the podcast get the book. His voice also comes through, which is nice.
2. Complaint: It does not go into as much detail on each topic as the podcast.
Answer: I am not sure what to tell you here. His podcasts are often multi-episodes long with some parts being over 300 minutes. Look at the length of this book… what did you expect? This wasn’t meant to overburden you with info, but instead to give nice overview and get your own ideas running. And it accomplishes this perfectly. This book is meant as more of a starter I believe, a gateway into the podcast—not the other way around.
3. Complaint: The book does not give any new ideas or theories, but instead rehashes a bunch of ideas from other people.
Answer: well yeah, he admits it himself up front: “I am no historian.” In fact, he is considered by some as “America’s History Teacher,” which points to this fact; he is teaching us what is out there and being talked about, not making new waves of his own. This book is not meant to break new barriers, but instead it is meant to show us how complicated things are, while letting us see the many possible sides to each event; and in doing this, the book functions perfect.
So, all in all, this book is awesome. It sums up issues from and about key historical events that were/are or could have been apocalyptic moments, such as the fall of the bronze age to our current dance of nuclear power. Carlin sums up these points clearly and provides many lenses from which we can understand each event. If you are somewhat of an academic like me, you will love the index and the further reading list. It is nice to get to read over the primary and secondary documents that he is working with.
This book is a must read for anyone who has any inkling for history. It is clear, concise, captivating, and quite fascinating. 5/5
informative
reflective
medium-paced
is this basically just a rehash/summary of a bunch of different hardcore history episodes (the destroyer of worlds, judgment at nineveh, the celtic holocaust, etc etc) with a general theme connecting them all? sure. does that mean i enjoyed it any less? hell no.
love that dan carlin reads his own audiobook too, so it all just feels like a long(er)-form episode of HH. i will say though that if you've already listened to the episodes relevant to this book, you probably won't find anything new here, but it's fun to go along for the ride anyway.
love that dan carlin reads his own audiobook too, so it all just feels like a long(er)-form episode of HH. i will say though that if you've already listened to the episodes relevant to this book, you probably won't find anything new here, but it's fun to go along for the ride anyway.
informative
fast-paced
Dan Carlin is one of the best voices today at humanizing moments of history, making it easy to step into whatever era he is describing, and his book here is no exception.
While I loved every minute of reading it and found it repeatedly opening my mind to things I had never considered before, I'm not sure it adheres quite as much to the thesis as I had hoped it would. While existential threats are certainly the theme of the book, I think it gets lost in the admittedly fascinating details of the eras Carlin describes.
While I loved every minute of reading it and found it repeatedly opening my mind to things I had never considered before, I'm not sure it adheres quite as much to the thesis as I had hoped it would. While existential threats are certainly the theme of the book, I think it gets lost in the admittedly fascinating details of the eras Carlin describes.
informative
medium-paced